John Charles White Halliday (19 June 1871 – 23 September 1946) was an Australian

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 ...

who popularised

intracapsular cataract extraction Cataract surgery, also called lens replacement surgery, is the removal of the natural lens of the eye (also called "crystalline lens") that has developed an opacification, which is referred to as a cataract, and its replacement with an intraocu ...

in Sydney.

Early life

John Halliday was the youngest of eight children of Francis and Mary Halliday. His father was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and served as Mayor of Bathurst. He attended

All Saints' College, Bathurst All Saints' College was an independent, co-educational Christian college in the Anglican tradition. It was established in 1874, and closed in 2018 to merge with The Scots School, Bathurst, to form Scots All Saints' College, with campuses in an ...

, in his early school years. In 1888, he was enrolled as Charles Halliday as a boarder at

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

. In his first year, he was awarded the Form V Classics Prize, the School Prize, and the Mathematics Prize. Halliday was a member and Secretary of the College Literary and Debating Society, he served in the Cadet Corps and was a Prefect. In 1889 he won the Wigram Allen Scholarship, awarded by Sir

George Wigram Allen Sir George Wigram Allen (16 May 1824 – 23 July 1885) was an Australian politician and philanthropist. He was Speaker in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1875–1883. Allen was held in high esteem. As speaker he showed dignity, courtes ...

, for General Proficiency, with

Edwin Cuthbert Hall Edwin Cuthbert Hall (1874–1953) was an Australian physician and philanthropist who through a bequest funded the Edwin Cuthbert Hall Chair of Middle Eastern Archaeology within the Department of Archaeology at the University of Sydney. In 1973, ...

receiving it in the same year for Mathematics. At the end of the year, Halliday was named Dux of the College and received the Schofield Scholarship. He went up to the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, reverting to the name of John Halliday, and in 1896 graduated as a Bachelor of Medicine and Chirurgery.

Medical career

In 1898 and 1899, Halliday studied

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a 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. Following a medic ...

in England before returning to Sydney and establishing a general practice at

Rockdale, New South Wales Rockdale is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rockdale is located 13 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Rockdale is one of the administrative centre ...

. He commenced special practice in

Macquarie Street, Sydney Macquarie Street is a street in the central business district of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Macquarie Street extends from Hyde Park at its southern end to the Sydney Opera House at its northern end. Apart from connecting these two m ...

in 1901 and was appointed as Clinical Assistant in Ophthalmology at

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School ...

(RPA). Five years later he was promoted to Assistant Honorary Ophthalmic Surgeon and was appointed as Acting Assistant Ophthalmic Surgeon at

Sydney Hospital Sydney Hospital is a major hospital in Australia, located on Macquarie Street in the Sydney central business district. It is the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788, and has been at its current location since 1811. It first rece ...

. Halliday travelled to

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

, India, to study

under Lieut. Col. Henry Smith. For eleven years from 1920 Halliday was an Honorary Ophthalmic Surgeon at RPA and then a Consulting Ophthalmic Surgeon. He also practiced as Consulting Surgeon to the

Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children The Children's Hospital at Westmead (formerly Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children) is a children's hospital in Western Sydney. The hospital was founded in 1880 as "The Sydney Hospital for Sick Children". Its name was changed to the "Royal Alex ...

Prince Henry Hospital The Prince Henry Hospital site, formerly known as the Prince Henry Hospital, Sydney, is a heritage-listed former teaching hospital and infectious diseases hospital and now University of New South Wales, UNSW teaching hospital and rehabilitatio ...

(the Coast Hospital), the

Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, and the Church of England Homes for Children. He was awarded a DPH from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and was a

Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located on ...

and a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Halliday was a member of the Ophthalmological Society of New South Wales and was pivotal in the establishment of the Optical Prescription Spectacle Makers in 1932 and the Medical Eye Service Clinic in 1934.

Family life

In 1903 John Halliday married Fannie Hindmarsh and they had six children. Their youngest son, Francis Bathurst Halliday, studied medicine and became an ophthalmologist. On his death, Halliday was survived by his wife and children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halliday, John 1871 births 1946 deaths Australian ophthalmologists People educated at Newington College University of Sydney alumni Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Australian Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons