Quien Sabe? IM (“Dusty”) Allen: New Zealand’s First Neurologist

Abstract

I.M. Allen, born in 1895, was the son of a Waikato farmer. He was educated in Pukekohe, Auckland Grammar School, Auckland University College and the University of Otago. From his time at the Otago Medical School, he was universally known as “Dusty” by his colleagues. He was fortunate to survive a severe attack of influenza during the 1918 epidemic. He sat his final examination for the MB ChB degree shortly afterwards, but still finished first in his year. He completed an MD in 1921. From 1922 to 1927 he worked as a general practitioner in a rural town in Canterbury, where he played a prominent role in community affairs.