Caetano Francisco da Piedade Quadros, MB BCh BAO, DPH, FRACMA, FAFPHM

Caetano Francisco (Francis) da Piedade Quadros was born on 19 February 1936 in Mombasa, Kenya. At the age of 16, he left Kenya for Ireland, where he attended Blackrock College and studied medicine at University College Dublin.

After completing his internship at Jervis Street Hospital, Dublin, Francis returned to Kenya in 1961 to work as a district medical officer in Garissa and Eldoret. In 1967, he moved to London, where he obtained a Diploma of Public Health. He returned to Kenya in 1968 to work as medical officer in charge in Machakos.

In September 1970, he migrated to Australia where he was district medical officer with the North West Medical Service in Western Australia, based at Derby Hospital. In 1973, Francis was appointed regional medical officer with the newly established Community and Child Health Services in the Pilbara region. He subsequently became the director of these services with the WA Department of Health in Perth, followed by a role as assistant secretary of Health and Hospital Services. In 1989, he was appointed chief health officer in the Northern Territory, coordinating medical services and health legislation. He later returned to WA, where he worked as a public health physician with Goldfields Medical Fund in Kalgoorlie and as principal medical officer for environmental health with the Department of Health in Perth. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators in 1986 and of the Australian Faculty of Public Health Medicine in 1991.

After retiring from government service in 2000, Francis assisted the Australian Defence Forces medical recruitment program and was a medical advisor to Medibank, where he was involved in migrant screening and health assessment. In September 2015, he fully retired.

He was a humble man of honour and integrity, punctual, reliable and dependable. He had a kind and outgoing nature, made friends easily and was always ready to help colleagues and communities.

Francis died on 25 January 2016 after a short illness due to aggressive stomach cancer. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, two sons and two daughters, one of whom follows her father’s steps in the medical profession.