HISTORY

In 1944 Harry Daly and Stuart Marshall teamed up to form Australia’s first private anaesthetic practice. Rooms were rented at 143 Macquarie St, Sydney in a building known as ‘Harley’ and they took that name for their group. They were joined after the war by James McCulloch, Len Shea and Robert Speirs after their discharges from the army – Speirs had been a POW in Changi. Ken MacLeod and Frank Leventhal joined the group around 1950. Leventhal had been awarded a scholarship donated by the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland for a young Australian anaesthetist to receive further training in the UK. This scholarship was donated as an expression of gratitude from British anaesthetists to Australian anaesthetists who had sent food parcels to their British colleagues during and for some years after the war. The next member of the group was George Davidson who joined in 1954.

In 1955, the group now numbering 8, purchased a property – 86 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay and established their premises there. This was a large, grand house of three storeys including a self-contained flat on the lowest floor. James McCulloch used this as his residence for many years. This was a bonus for the group in that having a doctor living on the premises enabled a medical practice to be conducted in a residential area. The building was named ‘Shanaway’ in memory of a property of the same name in Ireland that had belonged to Harry Daly’s family.

By 1964, the group had grown to 13, with Brian Pollard, Don Maxwell, Jim Loughman, Ian de Jersey and Dick Bailey having joined, the latter as a locum, and George Davidson having resigned to become Director of Anaesthetics in the newly established UNSW Medical School at Prince of Wales Hospital. A decision was made in 1966 to take in more members and increase the office staff. Faith McCulloch (James’ sister) had been the mainstay of the office until additional staff was engaged to cope with the extra workload created by new members Ben Barry, Des O’Brien and Dick Bailey (the latter rejoining, having been a locum member in 1963). The group became irreverently known as the ‘Elizabeth Bay Gas Company’, and so, in about 1970 when it became necessary to register a practice name, it was formally registered as General Anaesthetic Services, the initials of which regularised the term ‘GAS’.

‘Shanaway’ was a big house with a large room on the top in which was located the group’s library which included anaesthetic texts and an extensive collection of journals, subsequently donated to the Australian Society of Anaesthetist (ASA). This library had a more complete set of journals on anaesthesia than any medical library in NSW. The early issues, particularly those from the USA, were donated by Harry Daly from his personal collection.

The house also contained a magnificent dining table seating 10 – 12 people. This was known as the ‘Board Room’ and was used for members to study, for group meetings and was also made available to the ASA and faculty for use for State and Federal committee meetings and trial exams. From the early 60s to mid-70’s lunch was often served downstairs in the smaller dining room. Anaesthetic practice was less hectic then, and most days four or more members were there for lunch. The junior members of the group greatly appreciated the opportunity to meet with and seek advice from the more distinguished senior members.

ln 1969 the ASA opted to establish a permanent secretariat and Sue Butterworth was appointed full-time secretary in 1970. GAS offered to accommodate the secretariat at "Shanaway" for a nominal rent, and the secretariat was housed there from 1970 to 1980, firstly in a small upstairs room then subsequently in the downstairs flat, which Had since been vacated by James McCulloch. ln 1980, the secretariat moved to Gurner Street, Paddington, to a house which the ASA had purchased, thanks to the efforts of a number of people, among whom Don Maxwell figured prominently.

In 1988 ‘Shanaway’, or ‘86’ as it had become known, became too expensive for the group to maintain and it was sold. GAS moved to rented premises in Waimea Ave, Woollahra and then in mid-1997 to 201 New South Head Rd, Edgecliff until mid-2018.

The GAS office is currently situated at 354 Victoria St, Darlinghurst where the group now numbers 38 and continues to thrive.

GAS MEMBERS

Harry Daly 1944 - 1960
Stuart Marshall 1944 - 1968
James McCulloch 1944 - 1970
Len Shea 1945 - 1975
Robert Spiers 1945 - 1970
Frank Leventhal 1950 - 1970
Ken Macleod 1950 - 1978
George Davidson 1954 - 1961
Brian Pollard 1956 - 1972
Don Maxwell 1960 -1992
Graham Fisk 1960 – 1969, 1977 - 1998
James Loughman 1961 - 1970
Ian de Jersey 1962 - 1988
Richard Bailey 1963, 1966 - 1980
Jack 0'Leary 1964 - 1971
Ben Barry 1966 - 1992
Des 0'Brien 1966 - 1998
Alick Hobbes 1968 - 1977
Tony Williams 1969 - 1978
Warren Walker 1969 - 1978
Warren Millist 1969 - 1978
Warwick Wilson 1969 - 1978
Bill Herlihy 1971 - 1992
John Gillies 1972 - 1979
John Holmes 1971 - 1987
Michael Chan 1972 - 2005
Owen Thomas 1977 - 2006
Bin Bin Lee 1979 - 2003
John Augustus 1979 - 2016
Louis Klein 1980 - 1983
Henry Liberman 1980 - 1983
Dennis Kerr 1980 - 2025
John McCarty 1981 - 2018
Greg Deacon 1986 - 1992
Anthony Kelly 1986 - 2011
Colleen Kane 1989 - 2022
Rob Boughton 1991 - 2024
Genevieve Goulding 1992 - 2000
Andy Pybus 1992 - 1997
Gary Branch 1992 - 1994
Judy Branch 1992 - 1994
Keith Liyanagama 1995 -
Michelle Brookes 1995 -
Marie McKell 1996 - 2018
lan Woodforth 1996 - 2021
John Gibson 1996 -
Kim-Hoe Tan 1997 -
Frank Georgiakakis 1997 -
Simon Adamo 1997 -
Patrick Wong 1998 -
Richard Connolly 1998 -
Maroun Mallat 1998 - 2003
Malcolm Patch 2001 -
Matthew Lilley 2002 – 2011
Harry Koumoukelis 2003 -
Ean Lim 2003 -
Peter Isert 2003 -
Hugh Longworth 2004 - 2008
Stephanie McInnes 2005 -
Bethan Sutton 2006 -
Matthew Griffiths 2006 -
Kirsten Morgan 2006 -
Richard Maynard 2007 -
Joshua Vieusseux 2009 -
David Isaac 2011 -
Clarence Lim 2011 -
Zufar Tameev 2012 -
Geneva Sportsman 2012 - 2022
Michael Kerr 2018 -
Sue Young Ahn 2018 -
Kate Fitzsimons 2020 -
Lucas Fox 2020 - 2021
Alexandra Buchanan 2022 -
Stephanie Aplin 2022 -
Stephanie Fong 2023 -
Michael Tran 2023 -
Katherine Gough 2023 -
Adam Kelly 2023 –
Benjamin McAlpin 2023 –
Jennifer Lee 2023 -
Hawn Trinh 2024 –
Satya Varanasi 2024 –
John J Lee 2024 –
Caroline Shadbolt 2024 –
Rachel Ruff 2025 –
Siv Eing Lim 2025 –

This account of the origin and development of GAS was produced to ensure that its history would not be lost with the passage of time. Established in 1944, it was the first anaesthetic group practice in Australia. For close to 80 years members of the group have been in the forefront of the progress of anaesthesia in Australia. Many members have held positions of importance in the Australian Society of Anaesthetists and the Faculty of Anaesthetists and by way of teaching, research and encouraging the highest standards of practice, the group has made a significant contribution to anaesthesia.