1925 � 27 October
1998
Pilot made his name in
medicine
Dr. Eric Furness was born
in Adelaide in 1925 and educated at Unley High School, Dr. Furness took
a curious path to medicine.
He had a passion for flying
and in 1943, at the age of 18, he enlisted in the RAAF. He was too young
to see action, but the war claimed his brother, Jack who was shot down
over the German border.
After the war Eric Furness
headed to Perth, where he bought an old World War I Tiger Moth for 200
pounds.
Returning to Adelaide, he
became the State�s first crop-duster pilot in 1948. In the same year, he
married Elwyn Smart. The couple had four children and were together
until Elwyn�s death in 1991.
In 1951 Eric Furness joined
the then Australian National Airways as a pilot, staying with the
company until 1960.
He also found time to
complete a Bachelor of Science degree at Adelaide University. While
studying science, Eric Furness became interested in medicine and in
1964, graduated. He became a specialist obstetrician-gynaecologist in
1969.
In the early 1970s he
studied in Glasgow with the pioneer of ultra sound, Professor Ian
McDonald. Later Dr. Furness became the first medical specialist in
Adelaide to use ultra-sound in obstetrics and gynaecology.
In 1974, Dr. Furness became
a household name, delivering the Kyriazis quadruplets. He later recalled
the ultra sound treatment on Mary Kyriazis: �There were heads all over
the place. I thought the machine was faulty,� he said.
From 1976 to 1990, Dr
Furness was the senior visiting medical specialist at Flinders Medical
Centre.
In 1992 he married Alice
Crowther, a former nurses� tutor he met in the 1960s when he was house
surgeon at the Edgeware General Hospital, London. The couple travelled
the world until Dr. Furness retired in 1995 to his award-winning orchids
at his Coromandel Valley home.
Dr. Furness passed away in
1998. The Governor at the time, Sir Eric Neal, an old friend described
Dr. Furness as �a great South Australian who made a significant
contribution to this State and a man I�m proud to call a friend.
Reproduced from the
Adelaide Advertiser
During his flying days Eric
flew DC4s and DC6Bs.
George Egerton who retired
from Ansett several years ago spent some time fishing with Eric in the
Onkaparinga River. George said Eric was also a keen fly fisherman.