Phillips, Alfred Edwin, BVSc 1916
ALFRED EDWIN PHILLIPS, B.V.Sc.
The death occurred suddenly on 4 March 1970 of Dr. Alfred Edwin Phillips, a well-known and respected member of the Victorian Division.
He graduated B.V.Sc. at the Melbourne University Veterinary School in 1916 and immediately joined the Australian Army Veterinary Corps as Captain and served the rest of the war in France.
Returning to Australia, he took up practice in Mildura, but later in the 1920's accepted a position with the Melbourne City Council as Superintendent of Markets and Deputy Superintendent of Abattoirs, a position which he occupied for some 36 years. During his term of office at Newmarket, many improvements to the facilities for the efficient handling of livestock were introduced and Phillips played an important role in their implementation.
Meantime he retained his interest in the activities of the Army Veterinary Corps and for a period during the Second War he was Assistant Director of Veterinary Services in Victoria with the rank of Lt. Colonel.
From 1935 to 1939 he was Treasurer of the then Victorian Veterinary Association and held the office of President from 1939 to 1941.
In spite of physical disabilities due to ill health, he had no wish to retire after reaching the normal retiring age, so in 1963 he joined the Commonwealth Department of Primary Industry as a veterinary officer on a temporary basis, where his wide knowledge of the meat and livestock industry in Victoria was of great assistance. He served there until his death.
Mrs. Phillips predeceased him but the sympathy of the profession is extended to his three sons.