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Hamilton D'Arcy and his brother, Lance [Lancelot Robert] attended St Peter's College on a bursary for the sons of old scholars who had died on active service. Their father died on service in England during the Great War. In 1938 Hamilton went to London to commence surgical training. He passed the Primary Examination of the Royal College of Surgeons six weeks after his arrival and World War 2 broke out a few months later. He immediately returned to Australia spending the next five years in the RANVR rising to the rank of Surgeon Lieut. Commander. During the War he served at various Military Hospitals and on ships including HMAS Platypus and HMAS Australia. He was on the Platypus when the Japanese bombed Darwin Harbour. He passed the Fellowship examination of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1944 and was also awarded a Master of Surgery(Adelaide).

SUTHERLAND Hamilton D'Arcy CBE MS FRACS FRCS

1913-2008

Hamilton D'Arcy Sutherland was born, on the 9th December 1913, in Adelaide.  He was the son of Alan D’Arcy Sutherland and Elsie Letilia née Trehearne. His father, Alan, was killed, in 1917, as a result of a flying accident, while serving as a pilot officer in the Royal Flying Corps. D'Arcy's only sibling, Lance, joined the RAAF and died in a very similar accident practising aerobatics just before WW2. Sutherland attended St Peter's College on a bursary and studied medicine at the University of Adelaide, on a Sir Samuel McCaughey Scholarship, graduating in 1937. He was an excellent sportsman and played cricket in the St Peter's College first eleven, also earning University and Australian Blues in baseball and had a single figure golf handicap for over forty years. He went to London for surgical training, in 1938, and passed his Primary Examination six weeks after his arrival. WW2 broke out a few months later, and he immediately returned to Australia. Sutherland married Margaret Higgins, on 27th January 1940, in NSW.  She was the daughter of Harry Coote Higgins, a public servant and Irene Isabelle, nee O’Halloran. Sutherland and his wife had three children Andrew, Elizabeth and Peter.

Sutherland was mobilized from Port Adelaide and reported for duty, on the 1st May 1941, with a seniority of 9th November 1940 as a surgeon lieutenant in the RANR. His wife Margaret, of 12 Second Ave, St Peters, was named as his next of kin. He first had short postings to HMAS Torrens and Cerberus and finally appointed to HMAS Platypus on the 10th October 1941 until 8th August 1942. He returned to sea in HMAS Australia on the 2nd March 1943. Sutherland spent from March 1944 at Rushcutters Naval Hospital. During this time, he successfully became a Fellow of the RACS, also was awarded a Master of Surgery (Adelaide). Sutherland was appointed to HMAS Melville, in Darwin, as a surgical specialist with promotion to surgeon lieutenant commander. He was appointed to HMAS Torrens on the 24th November 1945 and transferred to the RANVR on 12th December 1945. During his time in the RANVR Sutherland spent some time in HMAS Kanimbla, Lonsdale, Cerberus, and Melbourne until he was transferred to the retired list on the 9th January 1969.

He returned to London, in 1947, on a Nuffield Dominion Travelling Fellowship. Sutherland had shown interest in the emerging specialty of thoracic surgery. When he returned to Adelaide, in 1949, Sutherland was appointed thoracic surgeon to the South Australian Tuberculosis Service which incorporated the Repatriation Department, the Adelaide Children’s Hospital and the Royal Adelaide Hospital.  By the mid-1950s they were doing closed cardiac surgery along with the other pioneering Australian teams, and he became the Director of the Cardiothoracic Unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, until 1977, when he took a position as the Director of Cardiac Surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. He returned to Adelaide to become the Director of the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science, followed by the Director of Outpatients Service at Flinders Medical Centre. He became president of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons 1978/79 and was made an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, in 1980, for his services to surgery. Sutherland’s wife Margaret died in 1977, and he remarried, in 1980, to Rosemary Gail Graetz. His two sons followed him in medicine, and his daughter pursued a career in public administration. His son Andrew became president of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and they were the first father and son combination to do so. Hamilton D'Arcy Sutherland died 19th July 2008, survived by his wife, Rosie and his three children.

Source

Blood, Sweat and Fears III: Medical Practitioners South Australia, who Served in World War 2. 

Swain, Jelly, Verco, Summers. Open Books Howden, Adelaide 2019. 

Uploaded by Annette Summers AO RFD