Bas-relief of Edward Dunlop from his memorial statue in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne
**Sir Ernest Edward "Weary" Dunlop**, AC, CMG, OBE (12 July 1907 – 2 July 1993) was an Australian surgeon. He was known for his leadership while being held as a Prisoner of war by the Japanese during World War II.

Early Life
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Ernest Edward Dunlop was born 12 July 1907 in Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia. Dunlop grew up in the Wangaratta area. He was the son of James and Alice Dunlop and younger brother of Alan. His mother became ill after his birth, so his two twin aunts cared for him. He worked on the family farm at Sheepwash Creek. He then became a school cadet. He continued his part-time military service until 1929. In 1928 Dunlop qualified as a pharmacist and earned many awards. In 1934 he qualified as a doctor with first class honours. It was then earned his nickname ‘Weary’. He then worked in The Royal Melbourne Hospital. In 1937 he worked in the Royal Children's Hospital. 

Growing up, Dunlop was very good at most sports. This included rugby and boxing. He became the first Victorian player in the national rugby union team, the Wallabies. He was the only Victorian in the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame. He later became a very successful boxer.

In 1937, he met his future wife Helen Ferguson. Since she a student he went to England to take up postgraduate studies. When World War II broke out Dunlop became a specialist surgeon to the Emergency Medical Services. He then enlisted in the Australian Army Medical Corps, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. While Dunlop was in the Middle East, Helen joined him and they became engaged. In 1943, Ernest became imprisoned in Singapore. He was then sent to Thailand by the Japanese. In Thailand he worked at the Burma Railway as a medical officer. After the war he got married.

World War Two
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In World War Two, Dunlop was posted to the Middle East. There he developed a mobile surgical unit that could move around to treat wounded soldiers. He also served in Crete and Greece. He fought in the battle of Tobruk. In 1942, Dunlop was sent to Java in Indonesia to treat wounded allied soldiers. Three years later, he was captured by the Japanese and became a prisoner of war. Dunlop was sent to Thailand-Burma Railway (AKA the death railway) between Bangkok and Rangoon. His medical skills, compassion and incredible courage in standing up to the Japanese inspired his fellow Prisoners Of War to keep going.

Achievements
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He received many awards which include: 

* Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1947)
* Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (1965)
* Knight Bachelor (1969)
* Named Australian of the Year 1976
* Companion of the Order of Australia (1987)
* Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (1992)
* Knight Grand Cross (1st Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Royal Crown of Thailand (1993)
* Honorary Fellow of the Imperial College London
* Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
* Honorary Life Member of the Returned and Services League of Australia
* Life Governor of the Royal Women's Hospital and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital.

Bibliography
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* SIR EDWARD 'WEARY' DUNLOP
* Lieutenant Colonel Ernest Edward Dunlop
* 'Weary' Dunlop and the Burma Railway Archived 2014-08-14 at the Wayback Machine
* Edward 'Weary' Dunlop; Surgeon 1946-1967[*permanent dead link*]
* Sir Edward Dunlop - Biography | Part One of Three Archived 2012-01-19 at the Wayback Machine

| * v
* t
* e
Winners of the Australian of the Year Award |
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* 1960 Frank Macfarlane Burnet
* 1961 Joan Sutherland
* 1962 Jock Sturrock
* 1963 John Eccles
* 1964 Dawn Fraser
* 1965 Robert Helpmann
* 1966 Jack Brabham
* 1967 The Seekers
* 1968 Lionel Rose
* 1969 Lord Casey
* 1970 Norman Gilroy
* 1971 Evonne Goolagong
* 1972 Shane Gould
* 1973 Patrick White
* 1974 Bernard Heinze
* 1975 John Cornforth/Alan Stretton
* 1976 Edward Dunlop
* 1977 Raigh Roe/Murray Tyrrell
* 1978 Alan Bond/Galarrwuy Yunupingu
* 1979 Neville Bonner/Harry Butler
* 1980 Manning Clark
* 1981 John Crawford
* 1982 Edward Williams
* 1983 Robert de Castella
* 1984 Lowitja O'Donoghue
* 1985 Paul Hogan
* 1986 Dick Smith
* 1987 John Farnham
* 1988 Kay Cottee
* 1989 Allan Border
* 1990 Fred Hollows
* 1991 Peter Hollingworth
* 1992 Mandawuy Yunupingu
* 1993 *no award*
* 1994 Ian Kiernan
* 1995 Arthur Boyd
* 1996 John Yu
* 1997 Peter Doherty
* 1998 Cathy Freeman
* 1999 Mark Taylor
* 2000 Gustav Nossal
* 2001 Peter Cosgrove
* 2002 Patrick Rafter
* 2003 Fiona Stanley
* 2004 Steve Waugh
* 2005 Fiona Wood
* 2006 Ian Frazer
* 2007 Tim Flannery
* 2008 Lee Kernaghan
* 2009 Mick Dodson
* 2010 Patrick McGorry
* 2011 Simon McKeon
* 2012 Geoffrey Rush
* 2013 Ita Buttrose
* 2014 Adam Goodes
* 2015 Rosie Batty
* 2016 David Morrison
* 2017 Alan Mackay-Sim
* 2018 Michelle Simmons
* 2019 Craig Challen/Richard Harris (joint)
* 2020 James Muecke
* 2021 Grace Tame
* 2022 Dylan Alcott

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