Hospitals, doctors and nurses: none of these existed when settlers first came to the district. Serious accidents and sickness were common, often fatal, in the early days of farming and milling. With settlement came the medical pioneers, the men and women who tended to all, from birth through to death and at all the times required in between.
Doc Ryan pays homage to the medical fraternity. Clifford 'Doc' Ryan (AM) came to the district in 1937 and served the region for 43 years. Doc had many talents including anaesthesiology, radiology, chiropractic and pharmacy and the skill to help farmers identify problems with their livestock. Some say Doc would have rather been an engineer. He certainly had an innovative gift for building and repairing medical machinery.
Doc delivered my mother's ten children and went on to deliver seventeen of her grandchildren. (Pemberton farmer).
