The recently wedded Doctor John Walsh and his wife Mollie arrived in town and, despite being met with a dusty wind storm, there was evidence of recent flooding with Mollie being amazed to see a piano floating down the swollen Murrumbidgee River.

Little did they know that this new adventure would result in a lifetime association with the township of Leeton, which is still ongoing today.

The only child of Fred and Ada Walsh, Dr John Walsh was born in Brisbane in June 1909 and was educated at St Joseph's College Nudgee.

One of his best mates, Donald McPherson, had a younger, attractive sister Mollie, who John became smitten with.

But there were sacrifices to be made and John left for St John's College at the University of Sydney to commence his medical studies.

An excellent sportsperson who excelled at rugby union and tennis, John made friends quickly and became good friends with Paul Sheehan, who was also studying medicine.

Their friendship would ultimately lead John to Leeton. Following graduation John started work at St Vincent's Hospital Sydney but moved back closer to Mollie, working at Grafton and Brisbane Hospitals.

The pair were married at St Stephens Cathedral Brisbane in June 1937, with John's best man being Cecil Carlton, who incidentally, is the uncle of media personality Mike Carlton.

Meanwhile, the now Dr Paul Sheehan had heard of the relatively new town of Leeton where there were plenty of opportunities.

In October 1936, he became Leeton's fourth ever doctor to start his own practise, which was situated at 12 Sycamore Street.

Dr E.B.M. Vance was Leeton's first doctor in 1912 and he later sold equal shares in his practise to Dr C.D. Bateman and Dr C.S. Molesworth.

Dr Molesworth later ventured out on his own and, in 1923, had new rooms and a residence built at 9 Kurrajong Avenue.

The building still stands today and is on the same block that the general agency business of Alexander and Block stood before it was destroyed by fire.

Loving the town and the lifestyle, Dr Sheehan wrote a long and earnest letter to his mate Dr John Walsh, and convinced him to pack up his belongings, collect his new wife and head to Leeton.

John did this and commenced work at the Sycamore Street practise in January 1938.

IN OTHER NEWS:

In April 1938 after 15 years serving Leeton, Dr Molesworth sold his Kurrajong Street practise to Dr Ronald Bennet of Maclean NSW.

However, things didn't work out for Dr Bennet and, only five months later he was on the move to Melbourne.

Dr Walsh pounced on the opportunity, purchasing the practise and residence in September 1938.

Nine Kurrajong Avenue would remain his family home right up until today.

As for Dr Sheehan, he remained in Leeton until 1941 and was a tireless charity worker for the town and was a foundation member of the Leeton Rotary Club.

He bought a practise in Newcastle and died there in 1954.

Now in his own practise, Dr Walsh really got stuck into his work and over the ensuing years held several important medical roles in Leeton including:

In his first year on his own he attended several tragic events, including the death of a four-year-old girl runover by a truck on the Leeton-Griffith Road near the cannery and a double fatality on Christmas Day on the Yanco Road.

He was actively involved in the community as evidenced by the number of positions he held including:

He and his wife had three daughters, Jacqueline, Elizabeth and Mary. Mary worked with her father and still lives in the family home at 9 Kurrajong Avenue today.

She is well known with great affection by a lot of people in the Leeton area.

In 1967 Dr Walsh commenced to suffer with ill health and passed away on the January 6, 1968, aged only 58, after 30 years of service to Leeton.

The esteem in which he was held was evidenced by the accolades and outpouring of emotion at his funeral.

A number of priests from across the Riverina attended and assisted the requiem mass at St Joseph's Leeton, including his good friend Father Josko of Finley, as well as Leeton's parish priest, Father Dwyer.

Hundreds crammed the church and a guard of honour was held at Leeton hospital, as well as Assumption Villa as the cortege made its way to Leeton Cemetery.

Acknowledgements:

Disclaimer: The information found in this article has come from a number of sources. The Leeton Family and Historical Society has taken every measure where possible to ensure accuracy and therefore cannot accept any responsibilities for inaccuracy or omissions.

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