Sir George Douglas Robb was a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 surgeon, medical reformer, writer, and university chancellor. He was educated at the Auckland Grammar School

Auckland Grammar School

Auckland Grammar School is a state secondary school for years 9 to 13 boys in Auckland, New Zealand. It had a roll of 2,483 in 2008, including a number of boarders who live in nearby Tibbs' House, making it one of the largest schools in New Zealand...

 and at the University of Otago

University of Otago

The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...

 (MB ChB). Robb had a reputation as something of a maverick and a rebel against the conventional medical establishment, as is discussed in a chapter in Brian Easton

Brian Easton

Brian Easton is an economist from New Zealand. He has been economics columnist for the New Zealand Listener magazine for more than 20 years, giving him a high public profile. He has held a number of university teaching posts but currently works as an independent scholar...

's book The Nationbuilders.

Robb was influential in the formation of the Auckland Medical School

University of Auckland, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences

The University of Auckland's Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences was established in 1968 at its present site in Grafton, Auckland...

 as part of the University of Auckland

University of Auckland

The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...

. From 1961 to 1962, he held the year-long position of President of the British Medical Association

British Medical Association

The British Medical Association is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association’s headquarters are located in BMA House,...

.

Robb was a close friend of the New Zealand poet and writer A. R. D. Fairburn

A. R. D. Fairburn

Arthur Rex Dugard "Rex" Fairburn was a New Zealand poet who was born and died in Auckland.He attended Auckland Grammar School, where he first met R. A. K. Mason, and worked at various jobs, including relief work on the roads. Later he tutored in English and lectured on the history and theory of...

, whose To a Friend in the Wilderness was dedicated to Robb, as was the following limerick:

There once was a surgeon named Robb

Who would take on the trickiest job

Put a zip in your foreskin

Sew on some more skin

Or screw up your nuts for a bob

Douglas Robb died in his sleep on the morning of his 74th birthday.