D r G eorge H ome: R oyal A ustralasian C ollege of S urgeons F ellow 169

G eorge H ome was F ellow number 169 of the R oyal A ustralasian C ollege of S urgeons. He was born in S an F rancisco in 1870, coming to N ew Z ealand as an infant. He overcame the early death of his father to excel at school and graduate top of his class at the U niversity of E dinburgh in 1892. During his time in E dinburgh, he was taught by L ord L ister and developed a lifelong interest in surgical asepsis and antisepsis. After working in L iverpool for five years, he returned to N ew Z ealand and commenced practice as a surgeon in N ew P lymouth in 1899. He remained in N ew P lymouth for the remainder of his life, although served with distinction in W orld W ar I and was the longest serving N ew Z ealand medical officer in the G allipoli C ampaign. Upon his return to N ew Z ealand after W orld W ar I , he founded and developed many community institutions and was a noted amateur alpinist, photographer and botanist. He died in 1956 after a lifetime dominated, not by one single achievement, but by much service to his community.