Obituary Mr F. S. Airey

Press, 10 January 1984, Page 7

Obituary Mr F. S. Airey

Mr Francis (Frank) Stewart Airey, a former leading Christchurch skin specialist, died in hospital on Sunday. He was 75.

■ Mr Airey worked in private practice and served for three years as the North Canterbury Hospital Board’s consultant dermatologist during the 30 years of his career based in Christchurch. He retired in 1981 but maintained an active interest in the medical profession.

Born in St Annes-on-Sea in Lancashire, England, Mr Airey emigrated to New Zealand in 1954. He had a degree in engineering and then had attended the medical school at Edinburgh

University. A number of post-graduate studies in dermatology followed and in 1951 he was made a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh. As well as practising in Britain, Mr Airey served from 1946 to 1948, attending British troops in Austria and Northern Italy. He was demobilised with the rank of major.

From 1955 to 1958, Mr Airey held the post of visiting consultant dermatologist for the North Canterbury Hospital Board. He held a similar post with the South Canterbury Hospital Board from 1964 to 1966. Leprosy was a special

interest of Mr Airey and he worked on its treatment for two years in Malaya. He also studied biting insects and the use of repellents for those exposed to them. Mr Airey had an early awareness of the benefits of using the news media for health education. He publicised material on the risk to skin of sun exposure. Cosmetic problems, such as acne, were a concern of his before such afflictions were seriously treated by the medical profession at large. A precise man, Mr Airey would often type letters for his patients and ensure that they were posted on the day of consultation. He was a keen climber, who enjoyed photography and combined the two hobbies on a visit to China in 1976. Asia was an area of lifelong interest to Mr Airey. - L In recent times, Mr Airey supported the Physicians Against Nuclear War. He is survived by his wife, Anne, a son and a daughter, all living in Christchurch.