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Obituary Roland Arnold Rodda — 1917–1993 MD, ChB, FRCPath, FRCPA
Pathology (1995), 27, pp. 107-108
OBITUARY ROLAND ARNOLD RODDA -
1917-1993
MD,ChB,FRCP~h,FRCPA
Professor Roland Rodda died in hospital in Manchester in October, 1993 after a short illness at the age of 76 yrs. Roly had been Foundation Professor of Pathology at the University of Tasmania until his retirement in 1982. Roland Arnold Rodda was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1917 and educated at Wellington College and University of Otago. After serving in the Royal New Zealand Air Force from 1943-1946, he returned to medicine and was appointed Assistant Lecturer in Pathology at the University of Otago. He soon developed a research interest in pathology and had the opportunity to develop his skills as a Research Scholar at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School in London from 1948-1949. His MD (New Zealand) was awarded with distinction in 1951 for a thesis on arteriosclerosis in the lower limbs. He was appointed Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago in 1949 and Associate Professor in 1962. He was a Research Associate in Neurology at Harvard Medical School from 1958-1959. Roly was very much a New Zealander. He grew up in a beautiful country and developed a great love for mountains. He was an accomplished and highly regarded mountaineer and spent much of his free time in the mountains during these years. As a student he was a part-time mountain guide in the Mt Cook area and was a life-long member of the New Zealand Alpine Club. He was also a Board Member of the Fiordland National Park. He
led many expeditions to the classic New Zealand peaks and after being delayed by appalling weather conditions in the Franz J oseph area, had the unusual experience of reading his obituary. When a new medical school was established in Hobart, the Tasmanian wilderness may have been difficult to resist, and Roly was appointed Foundation Professor of Pathology in December 1965. The early years in Hobart offered great challenges and he set about establishing a comprehensive pathology curriculum for the first student intake. An important initiative at this time was establishing the foundations of a very fine Pathology Museum, which now bears his name. Roly attracted a small group of dedicated pathologists and teachers and forged links with the pathology staff at the Royal Hobart Hospital. He belonged to a generation of pathologists who were able to combine experimental pathology with diagnostic service work, and he became Director of Anatomical Pathology in the Hospital in 1970. During this period he was a high profile figure at Hospital and Clinical meetings, and contributed greatly to improving pathology facilities within the Hospital. In 1967 he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tasmania, a position he held for 2 yrs. Roly's major research and diagnostic interest centred on neuropathology. He was an active member of the Neuropathology Society and the Australasian Society for Experimental Pathology. The latter made him an Honorary Member on retirement. He was particularly interested in cerebra-vascular disease and soon established a colony of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) once the strain became available. He had always been fascinated by the seminal work of Byron and Goldby and the SHR enabled the documentation of early hypertensive induced damage in cerebral blood vessels. He published broadly in neuropathology and was interested in traumatic head injury, Wernicke's encephalopathy, Huntington's disease and heavy metal toxicity. Roly also served his profession in a variety of different ways. He was a Foundation Member of the New Zealand Society of Pathologists, and after moving to Australia he became vitally interested in, and very supportive of, the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. In 1976 he established an interim Tasmanian State Committee. This was subsequently ratified by the College and he became the first State Councillor for Tasmania in 1977, a post he held for 6 yrs. As State Councillor, Roly hosted a very successful College Meeting in Hobart in 1979. During his years in Australia, Roly took the opportunity to see m:..ch of the Tasmanian wilderness and he was
108
OBITUARY
a regular bush walker and skier. One non-medical committee that he particularly enjoyed resulted in the establishment of a very successful Mountain Leadership Course with the Department of Sport and Recreation in Tasmania. Roly had a great capacity for work and was a very honourable person, always speaking out for what he considered to be a just cause. He could not abide humbug and always spoke his mind . He was loyal to his staff and had a great interest in registrar training. After retiring in 1982, the Roddas moved to Sale, near Manchester in the United Kingdom. There he maintained his interest in
Pathology (1995), 27, January
Pathology, regularly attending the local Pathology meetings at the University of Manchester. During these years Roly continued to enjoy walking the fells of Yorkshire, latterly with the assistance of a lightweight oxygen cylinder which he carried in his back pack. Roly married Linda, a well respected librarian in Otago in 1943. They enjoyed a close and supportive relationship and Linda shared his love of the mountains. Their son Nim is an engineer living in England . Our profound sympathies go to Linda and Nim. This obituary was prepared by David R ChaIlis, Brian McPherson and H Konrad Muller.
OBITUARY ROLAND ARNOLD RODDA -
1917-1993
MD,ChB,FRCP~h,FRCPA
Professor Roland Rodda died in hospital in Manchester in October, 1993 after a short illness at the age of 76 yrs. Roly had been Foundation Professor of Pathology at the University of Tasmania until his retirement in 1982. Roland Arnold Rodda was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1917 and educated at Wellington College and University of Otago. After serving in the Royal New Zealand Air Force from 1943-1946, he returned to medicine and was appointed Assistant Lecturer in Pathology at the University of Otago. He soon developed a research interest in pathology and had the opportunity to develop his skills as a Research Scholar at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School in London from 1948-1949. His MD (New Zealand) was awarded with distinction in 1951 for a thesis on arteriosclerosis in the lower limbs. He was appointed Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago in 1949 and Associate Professor in 1962. He was a Research Associate in Neurology at Harvard Medical School from 1958-1959. Roly was very much a New Zealander. He grew up in a beautiful country and developed a great love for mountains. He was an accomplished and highly regarded mountaineer and spent much of his free time in the mountains during these years. As a student he was a part-time mountain guide in the Mt Cook area and was a life-long member of the New Zealand Alpine Club. He was also a Board Member of the Fiordland National Park. He
led many expeditions to the classic New Zealand peaks and after being delayed by appalling weather conditions in the Franz J oseph area, had the unusual experience of reading his obituary. When a new medical school was established in Hobart, the Tasmanian wilderness may have been difficult to resist, and Roly was appointed Foundation Professor of Pathology in December 1965. The early years in Hobart offered great challenges and he set about establishing a comprehensive pathology curriculum for the first student intake. An important initiative at this time was establishing the foundations of a very fine Pathology Museum, which now bears his name. Roly attracted a small group of dedicated pathologists and teachers and forged links with the pathology staff at the Royal Hobart Hospital. He belonged to a generation of pathologists who were able to combine experimental pathology with diagnostic service work, and he became Director of Anatomical Pathology in the Hospital in 1970. During this period he was a high profile figure at Hospital and Clinical meetings, and contributed greatly to improving pathology facilities within the Hospital. In 1967 he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tasmania, a position he held for 2 yrs. Roly's major research and diagnostic interest centred on neuropathology. He was an active member of the Neuropathology Society and the Australasian Society for Experimental Pathology. The latter made him an Honorary Member on retirement. He was particularly interested in cerebra-vascular disease and soon established a colony of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) once the strain became available. He had always been fascinated by the seminal work of Byron and Goldby and the SHR enabled the documentation of early hypertensive induced damage in cerebral blood vessels. He published broadly in neuropathology and was interested in traumatic head injury, Wernicke's encephalopathy, Huntington's disease and heavy metal toxicity. Roly also served his profession in a variety of different ways. He was a Foundation Member of the New Zealand Society of Pathologists, and after moving to Australia he became vitally interested in, and very supportive of, the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. In 1976 he established an interim Tasmanian State Committee. This was subsequently ratified by the College and he became the first State Councillor for Tasmania in 1977, a post he held for 6 yrs. As State Councillor, Roly hosted a very successful College Meeting in Hobart in 1979. During his years in Australia, Roly took the opportunity to see m:..ch of the Tasmanian wilderness and he was
108
OBITUARY
a regular bush walker and skier. One non-medical committee that he particularly enjoyed resulted in the establishment of a very successful Mountain Leadership Course with the Department of Sport and Recreation in Tasmania. Roly had a great capacity for work and was a very honourable person, always speaking out for what he considered to be a just cause. He could not abide humbug and always spoke his mind . He was loyal to his staff and had a great interest in registrar training. After retiring in 1982, the Roddas moved to Sale, near Manchester in the United Kingdom. There he maintained his interest in
Pathology (1995), 27, January
Pathology, regularly attending the local Pathology meetings at the University of Manchester. During these years Roly continued to enjoy walking the fells of Yorkshire, latterly with the assistance of a lightweight oxygen cylinder which he carried in his back pack. Roly married Linda, a well respected librarian in Otago in 1943. They enjoyed a close and supportive relationship and Linda shared his love of the mountains. Their son Nim is an engineer living in England . Our profound sympathies go to Linda and Nim. This obituary was prepared by David R ChaIlis, Brian McPherson and H Konrad Muller.