OBITUARY
Roger Hardinge Redston
23 March 1938 – 13 April 2026
ROGER Redston, who served as a physician on the Mornington Peninsula for over 35 years, died peacefully on 13 April 2026, aged 88.
He was a devoted husband for 61 years, a proud father of five children, grandfather to eleven grandchildren, and great grandfather to five great grandchildren.
Born on 23 March 1938 in Croydon, Surrey, his life began as Europe edged towards war. As a toddler he travelled overseas to Canada, returning to England in mid 1941 by ship during the height of the Battle of the Atlantic, navigating routes threatened by U boats, with family stories later recounting the presence of Nazi spies on board.
It was perhaps an early seed of the curiosity that led to a love of spy stories which stayed with him for life.
He was educated at Wycliffe College, Gloucester, completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Cambridge, and undertook clinical training at University College London, where he met Rosemary; a nurse who became his wife and lifelong partner, and who died in January this year.
After qualification, they spent two years in Uganda, contributing to post independence medical care following the end of colonial rule. Their first two children, Thomas and Suzanne, were born there; both delivered at home by their father.
The family returned to England and settled in Exeter, where their third child, Kathleen, was born. During this time, he completed his physician training and became a Member of the Royal College of Physicians. Never short of adventure, they then joined the wave of “ten pound poms”, emigrating to Australia aboard the Fairstar, settling initially in Perth, Western Australia, where he worked as a hospital based general physician, and where they welcomed their fourth child Toby.
After two years, the family moved to the Mornington Peninsula, welcoming their fifth and final child, Samuel. He joined Frankston Community Hospital, later attaining Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. From 1972, the peninsula remained his home for the rest of his life.
In 1974, he became the first Medical Director of Frankston Hospital. He was instrumental in establishing the hospital’s first coronary care unit, and he provided longstanding support for the MICA (Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance) concept, contributing to training, advocacy, and fundraising to ensure advanced paramedic care became part of the Victorian Ambulance Service, including on the peninsula.
He trained generations of nurses, paramedics, medical students, and junior doctors, and for many years served as Medical Dean for Monash University at Frankston Hospital. Alongside this work, he maintained a long and respected private practice.
His career in cardiology reflected a lifelong fascination with physics and how things work – from childhood experiments with miniature steam engines and electricity, and dismantling clocks and radios, to practising cardiology before modern cardiac interventions were routine. He loved the heart as a system, captivated by the interplay of electricity, chemical signalling, and mechanical pumps. Renowned for his skill in reading ECGs, he delighted in teaching, including his much remembered “bundle branch block dance”, an animated way to explain how electrical delays affect the synchrony of the heart.
Beyond medicine, he pursued his interests with equal curiosity and care. In later life, he and Rosie established an olive grove in Moorooduc, applying patience, study, and quiet determination to its cultivation. The grove went on to produce award winning olive oil, a source of great pride and a reflection of his belief in craftsmanship, science, and doing things well.
An avid reader with broad and deep curiosity, it was a rare day when he could not join a conversation on almost any topic or engage a stranger through genuine interest in what mattered to them.
He is remembered as a man of intelligence, kindness, calm authority, and generosity of spirit — a healer, teacher, husband, father, and grandfather who lived a life of service, curiosity, and quiet purpose.
He is deeply missed and fondly remembered.
A celebration of his life will be held at the Mornington Bowling Club Friday 22 May 2026 from 10am to 12.30pm with light refreshments. Attendees can RSVP at redston.online.
First published in the Mornington News – 5 May 2026
