George Garrett Burniston

George Garrett Burniston (23 November 1914 – 27 June 1992) was an Australian physician who specialised in rehabilitation medicine. He had a long association with Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney and the University of New South Wales, having earlier worked as a public servant with the Department of Post-War Reconstruction and Department of Social Services.

Early life Burniston was born on 23 November 1914 in Campsie, New South Wales. He was the son of Daisy Belle (née Boxwell) and George Benjamin Burniston; his father was a butcher. He attended Summer Hill Intermediate High School and Sydney Boys' High School. He matriculated to the University of Sydney in 1933, graduating MBBS in 1939.

Medical career Burniston began his career as a resident at Hornsby District Hospital. He joined the medical branch of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1940 and was soon seconded to the Royal Air Force's orthopaedic service in England, working under Reginald Watson-Jones and Henry Osmond-Clarke. He returned to Australia in July 1943 and the following year was appointed head of the No. 2 Convalescent Depot at Jervis Bay. After the war's end he worked for the Department of Post-War Reconstruction as deputy coordinator and acting coordinator of rehabilitation for disabled ex-service personnel in New South Wales. In 1954 he proposed a national plan for rehabilitating the physically handicapped.

Burniston was appointed director of rehabilitation medicine at Prince Henry and Prince of Wales Hospitals in 1963. He retired in 1979 but continued to work in an honorary capacity until 1985. He also became a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales, securing accreditation from the Royal College of Physicians for his training program, in the absence of an Australian qualification. He then helped establish a local diploma of physical and rehabilitation medicine.