Doctor's Farm House Site

Statement of Significance

Notable as the site of the residence of the first three doctors in the district.

Physical Description

Situated 5 kms east of Williams and about 1.5 kms north of the Narrogin Road. The house site was on a hill slope about 0.5 kms south of the Williams River. Foundations of the building are evident and the presence of some flooded gums growing out of a depression near to the SW corner of the house site would indicate a well site. About 100m SE are stone remnants of another outbuilding.

History

The first doctor to take up residence and practice at Williams was Dr Arthur Edward Growse. His name is perpetuated by a street in the township of Williams. Some time after his arrival in the colony he was appointed medical officer at Toodyay in 1872. In 1874 he was appointed to Williams in the dual capacity of resident doctor and magistrate. While at Williams he selected 20 acres of land situated on the southern bank of the river, about three miles east of the Williams townsite. Described as Williams location 57 it was surveyed in early March 1876, a few months prior to his departure for Guildford The length of time he was domiciled on this block is uncertain. (1) It would appear as though Doctor Growse and his family lived somewhere opposite Millbrook, then the home of Stephen Monger. While executing his duties as a magistrate, he was often required to be absent from his family for days at a time. It is likely that the family lived near some settlement for the purposes of protection on those occasions. In 1876, Dr Growse moved to Guildford where he later died. (2) The second doctor to take up residence and practise medicine in Williams was Dr John Crampern Rosselloty who qualified in England. He arrived in this Colony in the ship "Stathmore" on 12 June 1864 as a surgeon superintendent of convicts. In August 1876 he was appointed medical officer and magistrate for the Williams district and took up residence at the Doctor's Farm. His district extended southward to Kojonup and radiated in other directions from Williams. Here he resided for 22 years. In 1879, in addition to the 20 acres he took up a lease of 103 acres, which was situated to the southeast of the original location, with the Williams River as its northern boundary. (3) Resigning in April 1898, Dr Rosselloty was succeeded by Dr John Aloysius Roughan who took up residence at the same farm. He was a well education man as well as a brilliant scholar and highly qualified in surgery, medicine and obstetrics having gained degrees in those disciplines. A very popular personality and held in high esteem, he was also a keen sportsman. It is thought that an injury he received while playing a game of cricket may have hastened his death. His stay at Williams was relatively short because the growing town of Narrogin offered greater scope for the exercise of his medical ability. This resulted in his transferring his practice to that place. However, his family was soon faced with the sadness of his sudden death on 2 April 1904, while he was still a young man. (4) Following his death Mrs Roughan was faced with the problem of providing for two young children. In order to do this it was necessary for her to return to the Doctor's Farm. She was held in high esteem and greatly admired for her tenacity of purpose. To procure some urgent household requirements she often found it necessary to complete the journey by foot. She finally left the farm to spend her remaining years with her daughter. Mrs Roughan died in Perth in 1957.

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