Geoffrey Douglas Maitland MBE - A tribute from Musculoskeletal

Physiotherapy Australia
Internationally renowned physiotherapist
Born: 27 August 1924, Adelaide
Died: 22 January 2010, Adelaide
One of the giants of the physiotherapy profession, Geoff Mait-
land passed away peacefully in Adelaide, on 22 January 2010 after
a long period of declining health.
Geoff was a pioneer in the eld of manipulative physiotherapy
and made a truly outstanding contribution to the knowledge base
and practice of physiotherapy not only in Australia, but world-
wide.
Geoff was born in Adelaide in 1924. He was a student at Prince
Alfred College until 1941. In 1942, at the age of 18 he joined the
RAAF. He was quickly drafted to England to learn to y Sunderland
bombers in order to take part in the Battle of Britain. Here he met
Anne, and married his 17 year old English rose in 1945. This was
to be the start of a remarkable partnership of over 60 years until
Annes death in 2009. Anne followed Geoff out to Australia by ship
as a war bride and joined him on the dusty plains of Plympton, SA,
where theylivedina caravanwitha newbaby while Geoff built their
rst home in his spare time. Under the Commonwealth Reconstruc-
tion Training Scheme for Ex-Servicemen, Geoff undertook the
Diploma in Physiotherapy course, then at the University of Adelaide,
graduating in 1949. Following two years working in public hospitals
in Adelaide, Geoff commenced in private practice in 1952.
A special studies fund award gained by Geoff in 1961, enabled
him to go overseas to study different methods of spinal manipula-
tion This opportunity was to prove a watershed in his career. Geoff
published extensively throughout his career and his seminal texts
on vertebral and peripheral manipulation (rst published in 1964
and 1970 respectively) and his guide to musculoskeletal examina-
tionandrecordinghave beenpublishedinmany different languages.
Extraordinary generosity in sharing his knowledge and exper-
tise was typical of Geoff Maitland. He was supportive not only
of those who took his work further, but of those who questioned
it. This was consonant with someone who saw himself as
constantly learning and who deemed the patient to be his best
teacher. Despite his busy private practice and many interstate
and overseas teaching commitments, he remained a totally
committed member of the clinical teaching staff of the South
Australian School of Physiotherapy virtually uninterrupted from
1952 until 1985. The careers of countless physiotherapists have
been enhanced by his clinical teaching as undergraduate and/or
postgraduate students.
His major sustained teaching contributions are best exemplied
through the three month Manipulation of the Spine course (estab-
lished under the auspices of the Australian Physiotherapy Associa-
tion) which commenced in Adelaide in 1965, through its successor,
the Graduate Diploma in Advanced Manipulative Therapy offered
by the South Australian Institute of Technology (nowthe University
of South Australia) from 1974, and through the Masters degree
offered from the early 80s. These were all trailblazers nationally
and internationally and attracted physiotherapists from all over
the world, as the Masters degree continues to do today.
Geoff was a visionary. In 1964, he was instrumental in the estab-
lishment of an organisation for physiotherapists with a special
interest in manipulative therapy, membership of which would
require completionof postgraduate study or challenge examination,
nowknown as Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy Australia (MPA) the
largest special group of the Australian Physiotherapy Association.
Geoff was a key player too, in the founding in 1974, of the Inter-
national Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Thera-
pists (IFOMPT). Geoff continued to play an active role in its
growth and in IFOMPT standards setting until 1982.
Geoffs unrelenting commitment to the establishment of an
Australian College of Physiotherapists was realised in 1971. Geoff
was the rst president of the College. He remains the only physio-
therapist to have been awarded both a Fellowship of the College by
Monograph (for his publications) and a Fellowship by Clinical
Specialisation. Geoff played an integral part too, in the establish-
ment of the Australian Journal of Physiotherapy. He received
many awards and recognitions of his outstanding contributions.
In addition to the MBE awarded in 1981, he received an Honorary
Masters degree from the South Australian Institute of Technology
in 1986 and the prestigious World Confederation for Physical
Therapy, Mildred Elson Award for International Leadership in
1995. He was the recipient of Honorary Fellowships or Life
Memberships of numerous physiotherapy societies around the
world, including those of his home country.
Geoffs level of commitment and accomplishment were quite
amazing. He was the rst to give credit to Anne who encouraged
and supported him through good times and hard times. In 1983,
they lost their home and all their possessions in the Ash
Wednesday res. Annes ability to support him in every endeavour,
to be the still point in a busy world for the family, whilst doing most
of the art work for the many editions of his books, acting as an
informal editor, travelling with him and constantly providing
constructive feedback on courses he conducted overseas, is indeed
illustrative of a truly remarkable partnership.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Manual Therapy
j ournal homepage: www. el sevi er. com/ mat h
1356-689X/$ see front matter
doi:10.1016/j.math.2010.02.003
Manual Therapy 15 (2010) 296297
Geoff will be remembered by countless physiotherapists in
Australia and overseas. We acknowledge the passing of a truly great
clinician, teacher and mentor.
Geoff is survived by his children, John and Wendy, three grand-
children, Cara, Jodi and Brett and rst great grandchild, Chloe, born
just three months before his death. (A much loved fourth grand-
child, Jarrad, predeceased him.)
Patricia Trott
Ruth Grant
P. Trott, R. Grant / Manual Therapy 15 (2010) 296297 297