Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Melbourne

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Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Melbourne

• RACS

• Medical

The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) is a bi-national organisation administering training, examinations and fellowship services for surgeons in Australia and New Zealand. The College was established in 1927, and the first meeting of the College Council was held in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1927.

Officer in charge: Archivist

The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons’ collections comprise material documenting the history of College and the development of surgical practice. They include records from New Zealand (some are held in Wellington) and from the Australian regional offices. Some records of individual surgeons and related specialist societies are also held.

Located in an award winning building in Melbourne's central business district, the main office was opened in 1935. There is also an office in New Zealand and branch offices in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland.

Format: digital and physical. Significant collections include:

• Fellowship and biographical files, 1926- present
• Photographs, 1930- present
• Minutes and agenda papers, 1926- present
• Correspondence files, 1930- present
• Archibald Watson: Diaries and correspondence, 1882-1940
• Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup, United Kingdom: Watercolours of facial injuries etc by Daryl Lindsay and individual case files, 1916-1919
• Heidelberg Hospital, Melbourne: B K Bank wartime and post WW II plastic surgery records, 1943-1967
• Road trauma, c1965- present.

Milford, E and Watters, D, editors, 'Anzac Surgeons of Gallipoli', 2015.
Beasley, A W, 'The Mantle of Surgery', 2002.
Beasley, A W, 'Portraits at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons', 1993.

Open Monday to Thursday 8.30am-4.30pm.

Upon request, RACS is able to provide reference and research services to Fellows, trainees and members of the public. Fellows of RACS are welcome to visit the Archives during opening hours. Others can visit the Archives by appointment. Applications to view records less than 30 years old will be assessed on a case by case basis.

Archives staff can conduct biographical research about deceased Fellows of RACS but, in accordance with privacy legislation, information about living Fellows will not be provided without permission. Biographical information can also be viewed via 'in memoriam' on the website.

Limited disabled access.

See Access conditions and requirements above.

Revised 20 March 2018

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