Mark Loane AM (b. 1954) eye surgeon and former rugby international, made his debut for the Wallabies against Tonga at the age of 18 when he was a second year medical student at the University of Queensland. By the time Loane graduated 4 years later, he had become the captain of the Queensland state side at the age of 21. He won Test caps against the All Blacks, England, Japan, Fiji and France. Appointed Wallabies captain in 1979 against the All Blacks he led the team to the first Bledisloe Cup victory in Australia in 45 years. His sporting honours include the Australian Sports Medal and inductions into the Wallabies and Queensland Reds Halls of Fame. Considering himself more a doctor than a footballer, Loane pursued studies in ophthalmology (eye surgery) where he received the Cedric Cohen Medal. Fellowships followed at Flinders Medical Centre, South Australia and the University of California, San Diego. Loane set up the Cape York Eye Health Project in 1999 to provide eye health services to the remote Indigenous communities, chairing the Indigenous and Remote Rural Eye Health Service for five years.
Commissioned with funds from the Patrick Corrigan Portrait Commission Series 2016
© Joachim Froese
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