Preface

The aim of this project was to have a record of registered medical practitioners who have had their own place of private practice and residence in the geographical area known as the Richmond River Valley. In mid-2011, it was noted that one common record did exist—Dr RE Longworth and Dr TG Hewitt’s worthy history undertaken on behalf of the North Eastern Medical Association. It did not cover beyond 1920 and appeared incomplete by modern standards.

Other records covered distinct areas, such as Mrs Neeta McKinnon's booklet centred on Mullumbimby, Mrs Helen Flower’s record on the health services of Kyogle, the remarkable records of Mr Bill Bartier on the Coraki area, Casino and Bonalbo and the personal archives of the late Sister Ann Thompson, for many years Nurse Supervisor of the operating rooms at St Vincent’s Hospital.

Also the regular historical columns of Margaret Henderson in The Northern Star newspaper started to fill the void in the history of medical practice in this region. It was felt a record written by doctors with the experience of practising in the region would help to give a scientific and empathic insight to the history.

Any research into the medical past was very difficult because of official removal from each hospital of the annual report listing the current Visiting Medical Officers, with their qualifications, and newly appointed and retiring doctors.

The modus operandi which had to be adopted was to get names of doctors in an area by direct contact with living people with very good memories, follow up descendants of old doctors and patients, read the records of reports and advertisements in the old newspapers and work carefully through the Medical Directories of Australia (which were published intermittently and not annually), held in the State Libraries of NSW and Queensland. One possible flaw in this method was entries in medical directories were completed by the doctor concerned. Another problem was that the old newspaper articles ceased to be recorded after 1955, so finding still living people with great accurate memories was the key to help the cause.

Naturally, the method was open to misconceptions, mistakes and errors of omission, so this study is presented in the spirit of someone having to start at square one to record the history of medical forbears and contemporaries, then accept the hopefully constructive criticism or additional valid information coming from readers, which could be incorporated in any future editions. So it may be very much a work still in progress.

The instigator of the project was Dr Austin Curtin, Associate Professor of Surgery of Sydney University, currently Senior Surgeon (also previous SRMO) in Lismore who enlisted the help of Dr Robert Smith and the late esteemed Maurice Ryan of the Southern Cross University, both being prolific historians of the region. They encouraged the project as a need to fill a void in our area’s history, provided their advice on how to go about the research and were generous in allowing relevant material from their books to be included in this study.

Apology is made for any feeling that material has been used from other authors but the researcher has consciously tried to avoid this and in fact has unearthed a number of previously unrecognised doctors, who deserve their place and add to the attempt at ‘completeness’ of the records.

No complete profile of any doctor has been attempted, so the length of a particular entry bears no relation to the social and professional importance of that doctor, being merely a reflection of the material available in each case and the relative interest therein. It is obvious that some outstanding practitioners do not have much written about them but this is a reflection of their nature, usually of their conservatism and innate success as quiet and private achievers.

Strict guidelines were used to restrict the end of this volume to biographical entries ceasing at the end of 1986, this covering 120 years of medical activities. Accordingly, anything relating to a doctor after that time does not qualify for this report. It should be noted that some unregistered people are mentioned to correct previous beliefs that they were doctors or if they were persons of particular interest.

Hopefully, someone else will take up the challenge to report the subsequent medical history of the region.

Neil GH Thompson, FRCS, FRACS