Gabrielle Beryl Hollows (' O'Sullivan; 21 May 1953) is an Australian

orthoptist Orthoptics is a profession allied to the eye care profession. Orthoptists are the experts in diagnosing and treating defects in eye movements and problems with how the eyes work together, called binocular vision. These can be caused by issues with ...

. An Australian Living Treasure, she was also given the ''Advance Australia Award'' for Community Service, and was made ''Paul Harris Fellow'' by Rotary International. She was married to the Australian ophthalmologist Fred Hollows from 1980 until his death in 1993.

Early life

Hollows was born in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area ...

, and raised on an orchard near

Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extr ...

on the Central Coast of New South Wales. She first became interested in medicine when she had eye surgery at the age of three.

Career

In 1972, she graduated as an

from the NSW School of Orthoptics, specialising in disorders of eye movements and associated vision problems. During her orthoptic training, she met Fred Hollows. and joined him on the National Trachoma and Eye Health Program, which aimed to survey and treat Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians across the country eye conditions including trachoma. Over a period of three years, they visited over 465 remote communities and treated more than 100,000 people. They married in 1980 and had five children. She worked with Fred until his death in 1993, and continued his work afterwards through

The Fred Hollows Foundation The Fred Hollows Foundation is a non-profit aid organisation based in Sydney, Australia, which was founded in 1992 by eye surgeon Fred Hollows. The foundation focuses on treating and preventing blindness and other vision problems. It opera ...

, both overseas and in Australia. In 1996, she married lawyer John Balazs.

Awards and honours

In 2001, she was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to community welfare and development. In the 2013 Queens Birthday Honours List, Gabi Hollows was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for "distinguished service to public health as an advocate for the eradication of blindness, particularly for Indigenous Australians and people in the developing world." In the 2021 Impact 25 Awards, Gabi Hollows was named one of the top 25 Australians creating positive change. She was also awarded the Judge's Choice Award for Collaboration.

Footnotes

Sources

Gabi Hollows - Founding Director
- biography at ''The Fred Hollows Foundation'' website

- 27 May 2005 (abc.net.au)

External links

The Fred Hollows Foundation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollows, Gabi 1953 births Living people Australian ophthalmologists Women ophthalmologists Recipients of the Centenary Medal Officers of the Order of Australia