The following tribute was authored by the Hunter Paediatric Society.
Dr Larry Roddick OAM, General Paediatrician, Teacher, Supervisor, Mentor and a generous human being died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday 13/07/25.
Having worked in Newcastle for 40 years, Dr Roddick has trained and taught many medical students and paediatricians. Over his career both privately and in public service he has touched the lives of numerous children in Hunter and beyond. He was a pioneer, having set up the first multidisciplinary Hearing and Cleft Palate Clinic outside of Sydney helping numerous children in remote and regional NSW. He was extremely proud of the fact that he had been able to successfully lobby for Ronald McDonald House on site , a refuge for regional families travelling to Newcastle for treatment. He enjoyed mentoring the younger generation and supported all junior medical staff.
Dr Roddick was on the board for the Nicholas Trust Foundation and worked hard to establish the Palliative Care Service within our region. He was an active Rotarian and through ROMAC, helped disadvantaged children and families in the Pacific travel to Australia for treatment. Larry, as he liked to be called was also a founder and treasurer of the Hunter Paediatric Society, where he played an active role in bringing all paediatric subspecialist and generalists together to support, educate and foster well being over the past 30 years. For all his contributions, he was awarded an OAM in 2019.
Post his retirement in 2020, he continued to teach and was an examiner for the Australian Medical Council. Despite his retirement, he continued to mentor and support paediatricians in Newcastle, both in public and private practice. He was also supporting a project to write the History of Paediatrics in Newcastle with members of the Hunter Paediatric Society.
Larry loved sport. He was an AFL fan and followed his team Hawthorne with great gusto. He watched the State of Origin with past and present work colleagues on Wednesday last week. His untimely death will come as a shock for many and leave behind a vacuum too large to fill.
His legacy which includes contribution to medicine, education, community, hospital and humanity will be treasured by all.
He is survived by his loving wife Jane and children Andrew and Kate.
