Pioneering craniofacial and reconstructive surgeon, Professor Tony Holmes AO (Cu’63), became the sixth recipient of the Geelong Grammar School Medal for Service to Society on Friday 29 May.
View the Photo Gallery from the Black Tie Dinner
Tony received his award in front of a room filled with Old Geelong Grammarians, current and former staff, and members of the extended GGS community at the Geelong Grammar School & Geelong Grammar Foundation Black Tie Dinner, held at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). The evening incorporated the 12th James R. Darling Oration, which was presented by Dr Phoebe Wynn-Pope (Fraser, Cl’83).
Tony has transformed countless young lives through his pioneering work in craniofacial and reconstructive surgery. Tony trained in Australia and the USA before founding the Melbourne Craniofacial Unit at the Royal Children’s Hospital in 1979. He led the Unit for the next 30 years and built a world-leading centre for surgical innovation – a reputation that was reinforced in 2009 when Tony led the extraordinary 32-hour surgery separating Bangladeshi conjoined twins Trishna and Krishna. Tony established the Jigsaw Foundation in 1990 to support children with complex craniofacial conditions through enabling specialist training, research and equipment. He was awarded the Royal Children’s Hospital’s Elizabeth Turner Medal in 2004, the McIndoe Lectureship of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons in 2010, and was the inaugural Harvard Plastic Surgery Resident’s Visiting Professor in 2012. Tony was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2019 for his distinguished service to medicine, as a leader, clinician and educator.
Tony said that he was humbled by “this incredible and unexpected honour”. “I loved the School and remember every teacher who taught me: in different ways, they all fostered a lifelong love of learning,” he said. Tony explained that boarding at Corio “was difficult at first because I was quite homesick” but ultimately was “a wonderful experience”, while Timbertop was “one of the best years of my life”. He said that he felt “fortunate and grateful to have had a career that I loved” and described the teamwork and satisfaction of craniofacial reconstruction. He also noted his pride in the Jigsaw Foundation, which he founded in 1990 to support craniofacial and reconstructive surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital, which includes fully funding a Professor at Melbourne University.
Tony joins an eminent group of GGS Medal of Service to Society recipients, comprising Thai health and education activist Mechai Viravaidya (P’59), human rights lawyer and refugee advocate Dr Eve Lester (Fr’81), legendary Papua New Guinea obstetrician and maternal health advocate, Professor Glen Liddell-Mola (P’64), leading Australian philanthropist and pastoralist, Tim Fairfax (M’64), and long-serving UNICEF child protection and human rights campaigner, Amanda Bissex (A’87).