Dental officer remembered as a gentleman of the old school
Traditional dental officers could be a stern lot. But not Aubrey Short. The former principal of Wellington’s Dental School was a great leader who really cared about the dental nursing students who came through the ranks.
He was a fine man and a real gentleman to his staff, says New Zealand high commissioner to Australia, Dame Annette King. She should know. She studied dental nursing under his tutorage and later became a tutor herself at his school.
‘‘I’d still be there if he hadn’t generously given me time off to campaign,’’ she says.
‘‘He was different to other dental officers at the time who could be very stern and abrupt. Aubrey had a real interest in his students and staff. He was a likable gentleman and a good boss.’’
Aubrey Short was born at Waihi, which in 1926 was a wild gold-mining town.
He was named after his uncle Aubrey Vincent Short, who served in Egypt, Gallipoli, and on the Western Front in World War I.
His father, Thomas Short, was the local doctor, who would later recount stories to his sons about how his father used to carry a revolver when he went out on night calls in the rough-as-guts mining town.
When Aubrey was 12, the family moved to Auckland, where his father became the head psychiatrist at Auckland Hospital. Living on the west side of One Tree Hill, or Maungakiekie, the young Aubrey attended Remuera Primary School and Auckland Grammar School.
For reasons unknown, he decided to be a dentist and studied at the Otago University School of Dentistry, where he qualified as a dental surgeon. But he never practised as a dentist, preferring to teach and administrate.
He met his wife Gwenyth (nee Sinclair), who would become deputy principal of Karori Normal School, when they were both, uncharacteristically, at a National Party dance. They were married in 1953, and their two children, Chris and Tim, arrived soon afterwards.
He was a casual dad, Chris recalls. ‘‘He was never concerned about homework, or chores. All I had to do was mow the lawns every now and again and water the vege garden.
‘‘He never tried to mold us, although once when I was about 12 he advised me, ‘Do what you want except don’t be a dentist.’ ’’
The family moved to London in 1959, where he furthered his education and attained his Fellowship of the Royal College of Dentistry. Chris recounted at his father’s funeral how he used to take his sons every weekend on the tube to Piccadilly Circus to watch endless screenings of the great silent comedies.
‘‘[We] also attended the circus, where he enjoyed the chimpanzee tea parties, although he wasn’t sure he should be laughing when they were beating the hell out of each other with large tea pots and furniture.’’
Once back in New Zealand the family moved to sub-tropical Whangarei where they lived near a glorious swimmable creek and among patches of native forest.
As the principal dental officer, his job involved cruising around North Auckland in the government Holden checking on the nurses’ dental work at the ‘‘murder houses’’ or dental clinics.
It was the peak egalitarian eight-hour day socialist democracy and Short used to finish work at 4.30pm and be home 10 minutes later. If the weather was good, the family would head off in convoys with neighbours and friends down windy gravel roads to deserted beaches where they cooked steaks over driftwood fires and swam in the surf.
In 1969 Short relocated the family to Wellington, where he had taken a job as the principal of the Dental School in Willis St. The school was inside the magnificent art deco building which has subsequently become smart residential apartments.
Dental treatment changed much during the 17 years he headed the school. When he started in 1969 fillings averaged five a year per child. By the time he retired in 1987, they averaged less than one a year.
The changes, he said at the time, were down to better oral health and fluoridation in water.
During his career, Short assisted in the development of public dental services in the Pacific and Southeast Asia, hosting senior dentists from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia who were focused on developing better oral health care in children.
Back in the day when public service demanded you retire at 60, Short willingly left dentistry for a life of leisure spending his time gardening and whitebaiting in Waikawa.
He ended his days in the Te Hopai Rest Home behind Wellington Hospital.
Son Chris says: ‘‘Aubrey was confined to a lazy-boy chair and spent most of his day sitting at a table with old people mumbling continuous gibberish. Always a gentleman he would say: ‘Excuse me, I don’t understand you.’ Eventually it drove him to despair.
‘‘Two weeks ago he caught a cold, lost his voracious appetite, fell asleep for a few days and died.’’
He is survived by his wife, two sons and three grandchildren.