Margaret River holds a special place in the hearts of many Western Australians, but few books have been published on its fascinating history and the many trials and tribulations of people who first settled there.
Local residents Jenny and Bill Bunbury have written Settlement, Struggle and Success Margaret River and its Old Hospital 1924–2024 launched last year by Janet Holmes a Court to mark the 100th anniversary of the old hospital being opened.
The book is more than a story about the hospital, but an extensive look into the Margaret River area, its settlement and broader social and economic development, local people including dairy farmers battling to make a living under trying conditions, long-suffering nurses, an alcoholic doctor, a group of Anglican nuns, accident-prone timber workers and, in Britain, aristocratic women named Margaret who formed a bond with the town on the other side of the world.
Jenny Bunbury came to Australia in 1964 after completing a history degree at Durham University. She worked in the WA Public Service for 30 years, retiring in 2005. Bill Bunbury is well known for his oral history documentaries on ABC Radio National and for writing 14 books, three of which have been co-authored with Jenny.
“I decided to write the book because the 100th anniversary of the old hospital being opened in Margaret River was coming up,” Jenny tells Have a Go News. “The old hospital is now the Margaret River Community Centre. I was on the committee so it seemed a good way to commemorate the centenary.”
Says Bill: “It was only by pure luck that I had done two programs on group settlement, one in Denmark and the other in Margaret River so we had quite a lot of the settler history. A lot of people came to WA and those who settled in the Margaret River region often had accidents so there was a big need for a hospital.”
Regarding research, Jenny said she looked at what state records had in the State Library.
“That was where I got lucky because there were 17 files covering the whole history of the old hospital and all the letters going between local people and those in Perth.
“So that made it easier to get the entire story. And even when people had letters here, the replies might be in the state records so I managed to draw a picture of all that.”
Writing the book took about two years and, as Jenny says, despite the trials and tribulations of early residents, the strong community spirit shone through.
“Even today there’s still a sense here of helping people and that came out in the group settlement. People had to share hard times and I think that spirit is still here.”
The book reveals that city officials did not really understand the deprivation and problems of running a hospital in Margaret River. Heaps of letters went to and fro for something as simple as having a walkway between buildings asphalted to protect staff from the rain.
“I think the early settlers had great resilience and the ability to find new ways of doing things,” Jenny says. “They really struggled but when they found jobs in the wine industry, at least they had a reliable income so the local economy began to pick up in the late 1970s.”
An interesting mention in the book is of a young school teacher 21-year-old John Tonkin (destined to become WA Premier 50 years later) who was head teacher at Forrest Grove.
“His political views were largely formed by what he saw as government incompetence and indifference to conditions in the group settlements.
“Among his pupils, one family of four children rode on one horse nearly ten kilometres to school each day. Young and inexperienced as he was, Tonkin gained respect from parents as he advocated for the settlers.”
Jenny says there are many people who worked in the old hospital and also made the new hospital in Margaret River possible, including nurse Judy Wake who is mentioned in the book settling there after training as a nurse in England, landing in WA as a “ten pound Pom” in 1962.
“Overall, Judy found Margaret River to be a laid-back sort of hospital with its own culture.”
An interesting couple were Dr John Lagan and his wife Dr Eithne Sheridan who emigrated from Ireland when Margaret River could not attract an Australian doctor and the hospital was in danger of closing. Judy Wake worked alongside these doctors for several decades.
“They were lovely and they were so good, because for years they never had a holiday together and it didn’t matter when you called them, they would come.”
The many photographs for the book were sourced from a big collection held by the Margaret River and Districts Historical Society with help from community centre committee member Ros Blakeney whose husband Stephen, is a professional photographer.
The Bunburys’ book has been well received by local people and those interested in the history of Margaret River.
Settlement, Struggle and Success Margaret River and its Old Hospital 1924–2024 by Jenny and Bill Bunbury ($45, UWA Press and Margaret River Bookshop).
