Medical family's Adelaide connection

Alumni

The University of Adelaide holds generations of memories for the Sim family from Sarawak, Malaysia.

Four members of the family have medical degrees from the University, with two remaining to live and work in Adelaide. The family father, Dr Leon Sim, recently visited Adelaide with his wife Irene to attend celebrations for the 40th reunion of medical graduates from the class of 1965.

The family's association with the University began in 1960, when Leon Sim arrived in the city to begin his studies.

"I didn't know very much about Adelaide at all - I applied for quite a few medical schools, and when Adelaide offered me a place, the principal at my school in Malaysia said it was one of the best ones in Australia so I should accept," Dr Sim said.

"I remember my flight from Sydney to Adelaide being delayed, and by the time I arrived the people from the Overseas Students Association who used to come and meet you at the airport had gone.

"So there I was at the airport, all by myself in a new country, wondering what I had got myself into! Eventually I stayed at the Grosvenor Hotel on that first night and after that everything was fine."

Dr Sim graduated in 1965, and returned to Malaysia to marry, work and have a family. With wife Irene, they have had three children who all went to Adelaide and obtained medical degrees.

Shannon is still working in Adelaide as an orthopaedics registrar; Sheryl is based in the UK as a researcher at a cancer centre; and Stanley is practising as a GP in Woodcroft in Adelaide's south.

Dr Stanley Sim - who is also an avid poet and has had work published in international anthologies - said his family is grateful for the opportunities it has had.

"I know my father is very proud that all of his children were able to graduate with medical degrees from Adelaide, and I feel lucky and honoured to have had the chance to follow in his footsteps," he said.