Richard Stone

Richard was born in Wellington and studied medicine at Otago University, graduating in 1948. After two years in resident posts at Wellington and one year as a registrar at Wanganui Hospital he travelled to England to gain postgraduate training in medicine at Hammersmith Hospital.  Held house physician posts at Hammersmith and Whipps Cross hospitals.  He returned to Wanganui in 1955 and practised there as a specialist physician for the next 35 years. For a time he was Medical Superintendent-in-Chief to the Wanganui Hospital Board, and director of the Alcohol & Drug Assessment Unit.

Professional interests outside of clinical medicine included membership of the Scientific Committee of the National Heart Foundation, and presidency of the NZ Medical Association.

Interests outside of medicine have been many including reading and writing. Richard has a remarkably extensive library of books on medicine, nursing and hospitals in NZ.
He has a keen interest in medical history and the WMHS has benefited from this - see below.

Talks given to WMHS previously have included:

1996	Ulric Williams - the rehabilitation of a rebel
2003	A medical tale linking Wanganui, Edinburgh, Wellington and Dunedin (The Edinburgh Anatomical Scandal of 1828)
2004	A review of some early admissions to Porirua Hospital
2008	Did scurvy play a part in the failure of the return of Scott's Polar Party?
2009	Lionel Terry - Paranoid, Prophet or Both?
2011	Astley Cooper - Anatomist, Scientist, Surgeon and sometimes Resurrectionist