The Man My Late Husband Was.

The Tribute

Thomas Henry Trevathan

14th January 1985

It was not my priviledge to have known Tom Trevathan in person although I was aware of the respect in which he was held in the community as an oral surgeon. The name Trevathan of course was well known to me as a rugby loving youngster in Dunedin in the late 30's and early 40's and I was interested to learn that Tom had preceeded me to Kings High School in Dunedin by just a few years.

It is perhaps convenient to look at Tom's life in 3 ways;

Lover of the outdoors.

Over the years Tom has been a keen fisherman, skier, tramper and yachtsman and server for a time as President of the North Otago Gliding Club. When the children were young he served on school commitees and assisted with Sea Scouts.

Tom graduated from the Otago University Dental School with a Batchelor of Dental Surgery in 1952. For the next two years he was the dental surgeon at Seacliff Hospital.

In 1955 he was the lecturer in Oral Anatomy and Pathology. From 1956-57 Tom was the visiting dental surgeon to Waitaki Hospital Board.

In 1961-62 Tom spent 13 months doing post graduate studies in the United Kingdom and in 1968 passed the final examinations for Fellowship of the Australian College of Dental Surgeons and Oral Surgery and in 1967 the Dental Council of NZ approved his using the specialist description Oral Surgeon.

For some years he was external examiner on Oral Pathology, Anatomy, Physiology and Surgery at Dental School, an appointment which speaks well of the regard in which he was held by his academic colleagues. He also served on the NZ Dental Council.

For the past 17 years Tom practiced in Invercargill as an Oral Surgeon. I have conferred with some of his colleagues and they have given me this picture of Tom's professional contribution.

In the eyes of many he was regarded as the father of the local branch of the Dental Association. He was the first Oral Surgeon on Southland and his patients always came first. In his work he displayed the highest professional ability. Of particular signifigance was his influence on the young graduate dental house surgeons at Kew, many of whom were encouraged to undertake post-graduate studies. It was through Tom's efforts that the Dental department was established at Kew Hospital. One of his colleagues had this to say of Tom; “he was the forerunner of the new era in dentistry with his foresight and enthusiasm to see change in changing times.”

That brief outline of Tom's professional career is but the skeleton for behind it all was a man who was willing and able to meet the demands of a highly specialised profession. His commitment to the work meant being often on call 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. This kind of service was not without personal cost.

In his work he displayed a great care and concern for his patients, many of whom were probably unaware of the skill required to repair their injuries.

But Tom was interested not only in his own practice but in Dentistry as a whole and in 1967 he had published in the NZ Dental Journal a thoughtful article on the 'Future of Dentistry in NZ'. This article was very received and letters of appreciation were received from Professor Alister Smiley, professor of Oral Anatomy and Pathology, Mr. Hodder, President of the NZ Dental Association, Mr. Colin Geary of Biochemistry Department, and the Otago University Dental Students Association.

And so the city has lost a professional man of high calibre, one who will be missed not only on the local scene but by the profession as a whole. He will be remembered as one who accepted bravely his own serious illness and fought it to the end making very good use of the time that was left to him.