Peter Silberstein was a senior paediatric neurologist at the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Subiaco, Western Australia. He was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1920, a time when the city was known for its progressiveness and for its art, classical music and culture. Many of Peter’s tastes clearly had their origins in his city of birth, and his lifelong belief that everyone was important would also seem to reflect the social attitudes prevailing in the Vienna of his childhood.
Peter’s father, Friedrich Silberstein, was professor of medicine and his mother, Marianne Matilda Caroline Amelie Silberstein (née Lux), was a pharmacist. Peter had an identical twin, Josef (Joe or Phil), and an elder sister, Margarete. Several noteworthy events drastically changed the lives of the three young Silbersteins: their mother died from gastric cancer in 1933 and in 1934 the political upheavals, including a four-day civil war, removed the social democrats from power and led the way for the steady Nazi takeover. Friedrich wisely determined that remaining in Austria was no longer tenable and sent Peter, Josef and Margarete initially to the UK. It was later possible for the three children to move to Australia, through family business connections, the three finally settling in Melbourne. Peter studied chemistry at the University of Melbourne, gaining a bachelor of science degree.
Peter then felt that it would be correct to sign up for army service. He served in Borneo and New Guinea with the Australian Army; these were clearly very profound experiences, about which he rarely spoke. War service conferred the right to sponsorship for a medical degree, which Peter undertook at the University of Melbourne, qualifying in 1951.
Peter decided on paediatric neurology early in his career. He travelled to England, as historically many Australian medical graduates have done, where he obtained his membership of the Royal College of Physicians and worked at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street.
He returned to Australia, to Perth, to take up a position at the Princess Margaret Hospital, a tertiary level children’s hospital in Perth. At that time there were only a few specialist paediatricians in Perth and subspecialisation was not well developed, so Peter’s work included general paediatrics, however neurology, and associated metabolic and genetic work, were his prime interests. Peter has been called the father of paediatric neurology in Western Australia, clearly a very apt assessment.
Peter met Wendy Margaret Merry, a receptionist and subsequently a library assistant and secretary at Princess Margaret Hospital. They were married in May 1956. Shortly after, Peter accepted a one-year fellowship in paediatric neurology at Harvard University in Massachusetts. Their first son, Nicholas, was born in June 1957 in Boston and the family returned to Perth in late 1957.
Perth remained Peter’s home for the rest of his life. There were two further children, Jonathon born in late 1959 and Amanda born in October 1962. Perth developed and grew and medicine became more sophisticated and demanding. Peter became renowned in his field. He was joined in his specialty by other consultants, including his son Jonathon, also a paediatric neurologist, but Peter remained preeminent.
Peter was revered by his patients and by his colleagues alike. His knowledge and experience were evident, accompanied by his clear capacity to communicate with anyone and everyone. He always found time, his patience seemed unending and he was always determined to find the correct answer. Many of the patients he had seen as children with neurological or metabolic disorders continued to see him long after reaching adulthood, as they, or at times their carers, felt that Peter knew them best. In many cases this was no doubt true.
Peter was awarded a medal of the Order of Australia in 2007 for services to paediatric neurology and for executive roles with disability support organisations. This award also recognised roles in the Human Genetics Society of Australasia, the Epilepsy Association, the Cerebral Palsy Register and his research in aspects of neuropathology.
Peter retained good health until late in life. A hip replacement at the age of 67 did not set him back much. He developed advanced glaucoma, considered to be caused by war service, and it was this that finally impacted on his capacity to work at the age of 90.
Outside of medicine, Peter’s prime interest was clearly his family. In later life he was devoted to contributing to the upbringing of his eight grandsons. Family traits have strongly manifested, with the grandchildren entering professions ranging from artistic to humanistic to scientific. Peter had a range of hobbies through his life, but none of these really persisted except for his love of music, particularly Bach. Material objects were just not Peter’s thing.
Wendy died in 2012 after a long illness. Margarete died in 2013 and Josef in 2016. Peter lived at home after Wendy’s death for a period of several years with substantial assistance from his daughter Amanda and younger son and Jonathon, but eventually this proved unsustainable and he moved to MercyCare in Subiaco in Perth, very close to the hospital at which he had worked for over 50 years. Peter was very well looked after until his death at the age of 97.
Nick Silberstein
Jon Silberstein
Mandy Bamford