Education
He was educated at Street Kevin"s College in Melbourne, and studied engineering at Melbourne University before transferring to medicine, in which he graduated in 1937.
He was educated at Street Kevin"s College in Melbourne, and studied engineering at Melbourne University before transferring to medicine, in which he graduated in 1937.
He worked at Street Vincent"s Hospital before enlisting in the armed forces on 4 December 1939. First posted to Liberia, he subsequently served in Greece and Crete, where he was captured by the invading Germans. He escaped the prisoner of war camp and lived in hiding until he was able to gain passage on a Royal Navy boat to Egypt.
Later promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, Dorney commanded the 2/3 Field Ambulance in Labuan and Borneo, and during the war was thrice mentioned in despatches (twice in Africa and once in New Guinea).
Following the war he returned to surgical training, becoming fully qualified in 1947. From 1947 to 1949 he was medical superintendent at Latrobe Hospital in Tasmania before he was recruited to become medical superintendent of Townsville General Hospital.
In 1952 he volunteered to serve in the Korean War, where he was a surgeon with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force. On his return, finding that his post at Townsville had been filled, he moved into private practice.
He served briefly as medical superintendent following his successor"s retirement in 1971.
In 1971 Dorney was part of a civilian team sent to the Vietnam War, where he served for three months. From 1960 to 1982 he was Chairman of the North Queensland Conference Committee of the Australian Medical Association, and he was also closely involved in the local Red Cross. He established the North Queensland branch of the Endeavour Foundation, of which he later became Queensland Vice-President, and also served as chairman of the Women"s Catholic Residential College of Street Raphael"s at James Cook University from 1974 to 1982.
In 2005 he was awarded the Tribute Medal for the Battle of Crete by the Greek government.
He died in 2007.
He was also a member of the university"s council from 1971 to 1982. Dorney was also involved in politics as a member of the Democratic Labor Party, standing several times as a candidate.