49 Mathoura Road: Geoffrey Kaye's letters to Paul M. Wood, 1939-1955

From 1930 to 1955, Geoffrey Kaye, M.B.B.S., was one of the most influential anesthetists in Australia. In 1951, he opened a center of excellence for Australian anesthesia at 49 Mathoura Road, Toorak, Melbourne, which Kaye affectionately called "The Anaesthestists' Castle" and "49." "49" was designed to foster the educational, research, and administrative activities that would allow Australian anesthesia to reach the level of practice and professionalism found in Europe and America. Kaye wholly financed the venture and lived on the second floor of the building. During his world-wide travels, Kaye had developed a friendship with Paul M. Wood, M.D., the originator of the American Library-Museum now known eponymously as the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology. Through the letters Kaye sent to Wood, the authors see Kaye's perception of the events surrounding the rise and fall of "49." Kaye's early letters were optimistic as he discussed the procurements and provisions he made for "49." His later letters exhibit frustration at the lack of participation by members of the Australian Society of Anaesthetists. Kaye was truly a visionary for his time. He believed that the diffusion center which "49" was to become was not only realistic and achievable but also necessary if Australian anesthesia was to gain international prominence comparable to anesthesia in Europe and North America. In the end, the failure of "49" left Kaye estranged from Australian anesthesia for many years. How this estrangement affected Australian anesthesia is unknown.