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Emeritus Consultants Biographies
Robert Linton was born in Melbourne, the son of Sir Richard and Lady Linton. He received his early education at Melbourne Church of England Grammar School and later at the Universities of Melbourne, Edinburgh and London. In 1939 he enlisted in the A.I.F. 2/4th Field Ambulance and served throughout the whole of the Second World War. On demobilisation he trained at the Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in ophthalmology and came to Perth in 1948, where he entered private practice as assistant to Dr Barnard and was appointed to the Honorary staff of the Royal Perth Hospital. By 1956 he had become the Senior Ophthalmic surgeon of the Hospital and in all served the hospital some 28 years. Beyond his ordinary responsibilities, Robert showed himself to be a man with broad horizons. He was the driving force in the formation of the Western Australian Division of the Australian Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness in 1965 and was its executive director. About the same time he joined the Lions International charter club of Perth. It was this double association that through the years proved so successful, for Lions supported his ideas to the hilt and in 1967 a mobile clinic was established to detect early glaucoma and by 1970 167,000 people had passed through the testing procedure and the sight of many people was saved as a result. Lions subsequently set up a Save Sight Foundation to further develop Ophthalmology in the State and raised the funds to establish the Lions Eye Institute headed by a Professor of Ophthalmology. Behind it all was Robert Linton. His contribution was recognised by Life membership of the Lions International, Lions highest award, and the Melvin Jones Fellowship and Membership of the Order of Australia. As an ophthalmological surgeon he was well recognised by his colleagues and was National President of the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists in 1963. In 1938 he married Betty Dickson Halbert of Perth and they have a son and a daughter. With all his professional activities it would be thought that he had little time for anything else but for years he was Chairman of Directors of APT Shipping and associated companies and has always been a keen golfer. |
