Francis Stanislaus Flynn AC FRACO (6 December 1906, Sydney – 29 July 2000) was a

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

-based Australian medical doctor (

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

), author and missionary priest. He is notable for his contributions to religion, medicine and Aboriginal welfare.Flynn, Francis Stanislaus, 1906-2000
nla.gov.au Gibson, Eve
"Flynn, Francis Stanislaus (Frank)"
''Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 3. Casuarina, N.T. : NTU Press.Officer of the Order of Australia
11 June 1979, "In recognition of service to the community, particularly in the fields of religion, medicine and Aboriginal welfare"Companion of the Order of Australia
26 January 1993, "In recognition of service to medicine, particularly through research into Aboriginal eye health and to the community."The Reverend Doctor Francis Stanislaus Flyn AC FRACO MB BS
''The Quiet Australians - Biographical Enhancement'', April 1999, www.theorderofaustralia.asn.au He was born on 6 December 1906 and educated in Sydney, receiving MB BS with 1st class honours in 1930. In 1931 he sailed to England and in 1931 and 1933–1934 studied and worked at the Royal Ophthalmic Hospital (Moorfields) in London. Prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he had made several important contributions to the study of eye disease, including the introduction of a new drug which he named Mydriciane, and the design and patenting of a machine used in operating on detached retinas. He returned to Sydney in 1934 and joined the

Missionaries of the Sacred Heart The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC; la, Missionarii Sacratissimi Cordis; french: Missionnaires du Sacré-Coeur) are a missionary congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1854 by Servant of God Jules Chevalier (182 ...

(Missionnaires du Sacré-Coeur) (MSC) in December 1935. He was ordained a priest in March 1942 and, with advice from the pioneering missionary Bishop Gsell, was sent to the Northern Territory. From 1942 to 1945 worked with Army Hospitals. From 1946 to 1968 he was consulting ophthalmologist to the Northern Territory Department of Health. His activity as a consulting ophthalmologist to the Northern Territory Trachoma and Eye Health Programme continued until 1992. From 1944 to 1946 he studied anthropology with Professor Elkin and gained Diploma of Anthropology at University of Sydney with the intention of gaining "a wider knowledge and appreciation of Aboriginal culture and genealogy, and academic methods of field research". As early as 1942 maybe he had identified and officially reported that there was an appallingly high level of trachoma amongst the

Australian Aboriginal people Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

in the Northern Territory. In 1957 he made a full report on his findings in The '' Medical Journal of Australia''. In 1976 an official Australian-wide survey on trachoma amongst Australian Aboriginals was started under the direction of Professor Fred Hollows, who was mentored by Flynn. In 1967 Flynn was transferred to Port Moresby as Administrator of the Cathedral and Director of Catholic Health Services in Papua New Guinea. In 1970 the Medical Faculty at the University of Papua New Guinea was founded. He returned to Darwin in 1977 and was still active in the 1990s; for example, in 1995 he worked with Army medical eye service units which travelled to isolated Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory.

Recognition

At one stage his full list of titles read:

MSC MSC may refer to: Computers * Message Sequence Chart * Microelectronics Support Centre of UK Rutherford Appleton Laboratory * MIDI Show Control * MSC Malaysia (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor) * USB mass storage device class (USB MSC ...

, AC, MB, BS (Syd),

DOMS The Dom (Sanskrit ''ḍoma'', dialectally also Domra, Domba, Domaka, Dombari and variants) are castes, or groups, scattered across India. Dom were a caste of drummer. According to Tantra scriptures, the Dom were engaged in the occupations of sing ...

RCP&S (Eng), Dip Relig Studies (Rome), Dip Anthrop (Syd), FACTM (Townsville), MD (hc) (Syd), DSc (hc) (NTC), which led to a young friend writing, "Mum is worried about the number of letters after your name". * 1969 - appointed a Foundation Fellow of the Australian College of Ophthalmologists. * 1979 - appointed

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO). * 1981 - awarded Doctorate of Medicine Honoris Causa University of Sydney. * 1985 - elected Foundation Member International Society of Dakryology. * 1990 - conferred with the Papal Apostolic Diploma, together with the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice. * 1993 - appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). * 1993 - awarded Honorary Doctor of Science, NTCHonorary Awards
www.cdu.edu.au * 1994 - appointed Fellow of the

Australasian College of Tropical Medicine The Australasian College of Tropical Medicine, more commonly known by its acronym ACTM is an Australasian medical association founded by 10 interested clinicians, scientists and researchers at the Anton Breinl Centre in Townsville, Australia on ...

. * 1996 - appointed an Honorary Life Member of the

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) is the medical college responsible for training and professional development of ophthalmologists in Australia and New Zealand. The headquarters of the College is in Sydney, ...

Publications

* 194
Distant Horizons
* 196
Northern Gateway
* 196
The Living Heart
(with Keith Willey) * 196
Northern Frontiers
(with Keith Willey)

References

External links

*Photographs
19621962The MSC in World War II
''Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC)'', Griffith University {{DEFAULTSORT:Flynn, Francis Stanislaus 1906 births 2000 deaths Australian ophthalmologists 20th-century Australian Roman Catholic priests Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Australian Roman Catholic missionaries Companions of the Order of Australia Catholic Church in the Northern Territory