Moruya gained another permanent doctor in Dr John QUILTER who was born in County Kerry Ireland.

He graduated from the Melbourne University and had extensive hospital experience in Melbourne before becoming Resident Physician and Surgeon at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney.

In 1881 he came to Moruya after he was recommended by Dr Clune, well known in the area, to start a practice in Moruya.

When he began in Moruya he first used the premises of Mr Holmkvist and a room at Keating's Hotel.

He later moved to permanent premises in Queen Street opposite the Catholic Church.

He quickly demonstrated his skill and gained the confidence of locals.

In 1886 he married local girl Mary Theresa Byrne of Cadgee, daughter of Mary and Charles Byrne. After their marriage the Quilters lived at 19 Page Street.

As well as practising his profession, Dr Quilter was a very public spirited man and actively involved himself in the affairs of the town.

The local hospital owed much to this man. He was actively associated with the planning of the building and saw it materialise and grow.

It was he who initiated the purchase of snake bite antidote and an electric battery, the better to treat the dislocated shoulder of a 10-year-old patient John Graham.

He was at first an honorary Medical Officer of the hospital but after disputes with the Committee about purchasing surgical instruments without the Committee's approval in 1897 he became a paid servant of the Committee, receiving £50 per year.

For some years he was Alderman on the local Council and did much to aid sporting activities. He was a friend to the poor and performed many acts of charity.

The family was visited frequently by Dr Quilter's brother Archpriest Father W. Quilter of St Francis, Melbourne. On retirement in 1928 he left the district to live in Sydney dying in Lewisham hospital in 1936.

Dr James Fergusson's stay in Moruya was very short. A brief mention in the Sydney Morning Herald reports that he arrived in Moruya in October 1886 but died in Moruya at the end of February 1887. He had qualified in Scotland in 1865. On coming to Australia he mainly practiced in Victoria.

According to the Medical Pioneers Register Dr John Thomas Burgoyne was in Moruya in 1886 having been previously at Emmaville. He arrived originally in Queensland and then practiced in a number of towns in Northern NSW. He actually arrived in Moruya to act as a locum during the absence of Dr King during his return to England. In 1886 he was called on to attend to Edward Jennings, sawmill proprietor of Tomakin who broke his shoulder. The Burgoyne family eventually left Moruya in April 1888.

Other doctors who only spent a short time at Moruya were Dr A. A. Johnston in 1888, Dr. C. Gunn who found Moruya too small a town for his talents selling his practice to Dr Cory who also soon moved on.

Next came Dr Archibald O'Reilly who was appointed honorary medical officer at the Moruya Hospital in 1891 along with Dr Boot.

To be admitted to the hospital at that time a patient had to produce an authority from a member of the hospital and then one of the doctors would examine them and decide if admission could take place.

The doctors were paid seven shillings and six pence per visit to a patient, day or night.

Dr O'Reilly was well liked. He was married but had no children. About seven months after his arrival, he was found dead in his room at Keating's hotel. His body was found by a messenger who came frantically searching for him when the eighteen months old son of Mr and Mrs John Donovan of Gundary was found in a shallow waterhole a short distance from his parents' home. When the messenger arrived the door to Dr O'Reilly's room was locked and he received no answer to his knocking. An entrance was forced and the doctor's body was found dead on the floor. A bottle of chloroform was clasped in the right hand of the deceased and held in close proximity to the face. At the inquest into his death it transpired that the doctor had been in the habit of taking chloroform and other drugs for a number of years. The verdict was given that the deceased had died from chloroform, self-administered. Writings left on the table in his room showed that it had been pre-meditated.

Financial troubles were believed to be the cause.

Even if he had been alive and well when called upon he could not have saved the little Donovan child as the child was already drowned.

A Doctor C. Jewell followed in 1897 advertising that he would be practicing in conjunction with Dr Boot and could be consulted temporarily at Keating's hotel. He was possibly just assisting Dr Booth temporarily.

By 1934 Dr Godfrey Hugh Appel was practising in Moruya and living in Page Street. He sold his practice in 1936 to Dr Irwin Mackay and left Moruya.

Next on the list is Dr Irwin Hugh Mackay a name that lives on today in Mackay Centre in Page Street.

Dr Mackay was born in Kempsey in 1894. He graduated from Sydney University and went to England to further his studies. He married Ivy Margaret Glover in Sydney in 1927. Two sons were born, Geoffrey and John. Dr Mackay obtained a position as ship's surgeon and travelled on ships between Australia and Japan. When he left the sea he worked at Newcastle Hospital for eight years where he rose to the position of Assistant Superintendent. During this time his two sons died, Geoffrey in 1933 and John in 1935.

In 1936 he left Newcastle and came to Moruya. Here two more children were born, Ken and Jan. He became the Medical Officer at the local hospital, and like doctors before and after him, was often at odds with the Hospital Board. At this time the equipment at Moruya Hospital was very antiquated and Dr Mackay had to personally purchase any equipment which was necessary for him to perform the major operations for which he became so well known. He was a most likeable and understanding family physician and outstanding surgeon. He removed infected tonsils, stitched up gashes, cured illnesses and diseases and delivered babies but broken bones were his specialty. Scores of people walking around with straight limbs were very grateful for his skills. Broken necks, backs and many other fractures and dislocations were also mended by him. On several occasions he repaired multiple skull fractures. One time a patient with a pulped skull had to have mud removed from the brain before anything else could be done. Another patient who recovered to lead a normal life had nine fractures of the skull. No job was too big for Dr Irwin Mackay. Patients were never shipped off to Sydney unless it was absolutely necessary, although he was quick to recognise when such treatment was needed. If such a measure became necessary Dr or Mrs Mackay would personally drive them to Sydney.

It was this fact that brought home to Dr Mackay the need for an ambulance based in Moruya. It was due to the hard work of Dr and Mrs Mackay that such a necessary service was established. Dr Mackay donated the first £50 to the fund and personally collected another £800 to put the first ambulance in the town in operation. He was then Chairman of the Ambulance Finance Committee and worked for the ambulance service for a long period. When he died in January 1968 his death was deplored by people up and down the Coast.