DR
ROSS BASTIAAN OAM RFD is a periodontist, commencing private
practice in Melbourne in 1978. He
is a graduate of Melbourne University with a Master of Dental Science in 1975
and a Master of Science from London University in 1977.
He became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons
in 1979 and has fellowships in three International colleges.
He has published over 25 scientific articles and contributed to three
dental textbooks.
Chairmanships have included Committees of the Australian Dental Association, the
Australian Society of Periodontology and he is the Vice President of the Royal
Australasian College of Dental Surgeons. For
20 years he was a senior part time lecturer at the Dental School, Melbourne
University.
Dr Bastiaan was the Forensic Dentist to the Melbourne Coroner and Homicide Squad,
Victorian Police Force, from 1981 to 1990. He is still an active Army Reserve
officer in the Royal Australian Army Dental Corps holding the rank of Colonel
and was the honorary dentist to the
Governor General of Australia.
Dr Bastiaan is on the Council of the Australian War Memorial, Canberra and the
Australian War Memorial Anzac Foundation. He is a member of the Rotary
Club of Melbourne and was a Director
of Odyssey House Drug Rehabilitation Centre for 10 years.
Australian Military History has been a long term interest of his and since 1990
he has placed over 140 multi-lingual bronze commemorative information plaques with bas-releif
sculptures and maps on Australian battlefields of the First and Second World
Wars. They are in 20 different
countries around the world with many in Gallipoli, Singapore, Thailand,
Papua-New Guinea, France and Belgium. Duplicates of these sculptures are exhibited at the
Australian War Memorial, Canberra; House of Commons, London; Imperial War
Museum, England and many other centres. In
1995 he designed the Sir Edward Weary
Dunlop memorial in St Kilda Road, Melbourne.
He has published three books on the First and Second World Wars, including a
guide to the Gallipoli battlefields and the Kokoda Walk in the Dandenong
Rangers.
In 1991, his work resulted in him receiving the Medal
of the Order of Australia (OAM) for “services to Australian Military
History” and Anzac of the Year from the RSL.
In 1992 he was awarded the Advance
Australia Award for Australian History and the Reserve Force Decoration (RFD)
in 1996 whilst in 1998 he was made a Life Member of the RSL.
