The Fraenkel Family
By David Sly
The influence of the Fraenkel family on Flinders University’s College of Medicine and Public Health is a legacy that continues to influence the output of medical professionals trained to make a difference.
The late Professor Gus Fraenkel laid the foundations of what Flinders’ medical program has become. He accepted the appointment of Founding Chairman and Dean of the School of Medicine and moved to Adelaide in 1970 from New Zealand, assisting in the physical design and progressive curriculum development of the first fully integrated Medical School and teaching hospital in the southern hemisphere. He welcomed the first medical students to Flinders in 1974 and is forever linked to the library he established within the Flinders Medical School in 1975 – officially named the Gus Fraenkel Medical Library on his retirement in 1984.
All three of Professor Fraenkel’s children obtained Flinders University medical degrees and have devoted their careers to medicine – Margaret, who graduated in 1982 and is now a renal physician in Melbourne with a keen interest in chronic kidney disease and dialysis; David graduated in 1985 and specialised in respiratory and intensive care medicine in Queensland before retiring in 2020; Graham graduated in 1991 and trained as an ophthalmologist.
Supporting Medical Students
They maintain the same affection that their father held for Flinders University, inspiring them to provide funds to support the mental health and wellbeing of medical students, and the Matthew Flinders Scholarship for students in financial need – so that the University can continue nurturing the next generation of medical professionals.
“Flinders is ingrained in our memories, because it was the centre of our lives,” says Margaret. “We had moved from New Zealand. I was 12 and Graham was only five, so his earliest memories of Adelaide are wandering around the paddocks at Bedford Park that would become the Flinders Medical Centre.”
Professor Fraenkel’s commitment to Flinders was absolute – especially his determination to create a unique and modern curriculum, not only for the medical students but also for nurses, right through to his retirement in 1984.
Flinders had a significant stamp on Fraenkel family life during the early years. “A lot of family socialising involved my parents hosting the applicants for positions in the medical school, and our mother was closely involved in helping settle the families of the new academic staff at the School of Medicine, who moved to Adelaide from overseas and interstate,” recalls David.
This included entertaining architects brought from the UK to design the Flinders Medical Centre. “I remember those architects sitting around on the lounge room floor with us children, making model hospitals out of blocks for fun,” says Margaret. “I remember that we’d always put a courtyard at the centre of those models – and that became a defining feature of Flinders Medical Centre.”
The Fraenkels acknowledge that their time studying at Flinders was pivotal to their success. “The early clinical exposure and clinical case studies in the curriculum were decades ahead of other Australian medical schools, and I think this helped me integrate and perform at a clinical level in my intern year and the years to follow,” says David. “My time at Flinders encouraged intellectual growth, and the elective units available in the first three years were particularly valuable in broadening my education. I undertook units in Art History, English and Communication Studies.”
It touches on the ironic point that the Fraenkel children didn’t initially have medical ambitions. Margaret had wanted to study law/arts at Australian National University, but her parents couldn’t afford to send her to Canberra, so medicine became her second choice – although she took additional study units in computing, Italian and music while at Flinders. Graham did engineering first before crossing over to medicine.
“I suppose we were ultimately drawn to medicine because we were all so familiar with it,” says Margaret. “It was never an issue being the children of the Dean. Nobody made a fuss. We just got on with it, and I think that was one of the blessings of having such a diverse student group at Flinders – not just a few privileged boys from wealthy families, but people from all walks of life and different nationalities who were determined to succeed in medicine. Many of those students have remained friends for life.”
Moving Away
Once qualified, the Fraenkels moved far afield. Margaret relocated to Melbourne to study her PhD – then stayed, initially for work, then romance – which led to family life and also a career as a renal medicine specialist, pursuing an interest in chronic kidney disease and dialysis, poorly controlled hypertension, acute renal failure and glomerulonephritis.
David ventured overseas, working at the respiratory research unit at Southampton General Hospital in the UK, then returned to Flinders Medical Centre in 1994 to complete specialist training in intensive care medicine with the Joint Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine. He moved with his family to Brisbane in 1996 to be Staff Specialist Intensivist, spending 10 years at the Royal Brisbane Hospital and then 10 years at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. He helped develop the Electronic Medical Record for use in Queensland intensive care units, before retiring in 2020.
It was when David faced the prospect of prostate cancer\ surgery in 2020 that he reflected on the importance of his Flinders education, so he donated to the Matthew Flinders Scholarship to support students facing financial barriers to education and to give back to the University that had set him on his career path.
“Now, in the fullness of time, I’ve come to really appreciate the value of what Flinders gave to me. It gave me a leg up at the time that wasn’t available to everyone – and, in deciding to make my donation, I want to see that continue for others.”
Such consideration mirrors the connections that Professor Gus Fraenkel maintained with Flinders long after he retired. “He’d visit the hospital weekly and continued giving tutorials on the History of Medicine at the Repat hospital until three weeks
before he died in 1998,” says Margaret. “It was his lifelong passion and commitment.
“I meet Flinders medical graduates all the time and it’s clear that the Flinders course attracted the type of people who were driven to make a difference. There are an enormous number of influential Flinders medical graduates. They were taught to develop enquiring minds, with the confidence to speak up.
“What my father and the inaugural professors embedded into medical training at Flinders has been maintained. They set a new template that is stronger, better and more durable. It’s an incredible legacy they have left us.”