Melbourne Uni doctor calls for information on Healesville historical protest
Arthur Deery arrived in Australia among hundreds of Jewish refugees during World War II, becoming a much-loved GP. But when the local hospital sacked him amid government communist spy accusations, many of his patients took to the streets.
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It was hot and dusty as the “militant mothers” strode down Healesville’s main street looking for retribution.
The mercury had reached 100F – now 37C – but the sweltering heat couldn’t stop more than 50 women from marching to the doors of Healesville Hospital demanding the reinstatement of their general practitioner – Dr Arthur Deery.
The crowd was made up of mothers who were pregnant, while some pushed prams. Others held babies on their hips as they took to the streets in anger over their country doctor’s dismissal from the town’s hospital in January, 1961.
Now, almost 60 years after the progressive rally, Melbourne University researcher Dr Fallon Mody is looking for those involved.
The historian, whose doctoral thesis was about migrant doctors from 1930 to 1960, is trying to track down any of the surviving mothers, or children, who attended the march to discover more about the “extraordinary” campaign.
“I don’t have a lot to go on,” Dr Fallon said.
“I am sure that someone out there knows who these women and their children are, and I’m hoping that through the power of the media and social media I can find them and hear their stories.”
According to Dr Mody, Dr Deery was a Hungarian who studied medicine in Italy. He was one of hundreds of Jewish refugee doctors who came to Australia during World War II.
She said the much-loved physician, who practised in Healesville from the late 1940s to 1968, was constantly hounded by government authorities — who accused him of either being communist or having communist friends — throughout his life.
Dr Mody said he was even investigated by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).
“He was suspected of being a communist spy for most his life,” Dr Mody said.
“The 1950s and 60s was a peak time for anti-communist feeling.”
She said there was a major movement in the medical industry to stop migrant doctors from practising in Australia, which culminated with Dr Deery’s dismissal from Healesville Hospital for alleging “there were illegal operations going on – which was code for abortions”.
“The reason was very vague,” Dr Mody said.
“(They said he was circulating) accusations and slander against his colleagues at the hospital.”
She said the dismissal meant Dr Deery could no longer practice either publicly or at his private surgery.
“The Healesville community erupted at the time,” Dr Mody said.
“The hospital’s actions sparked days of protests, with mums and their children and pensioners taking to the streets.”
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She said women marched in the heat — with hats and gloves — wielding placards with slogans such as: “1000 Babies Can’t be Wrong” and “Healesville’s Militant Mothers”.
“They pitted themselves against the medical establishment and conservative political forces and demanded their healthcare and community good should come first,” Dr Mody said.
“They helped secure a public inquiry and Dr Deery’s eventual reinstatement in 1962.”
Dr Mody will present the Life Of Dr Arthur Deery at the Healesville Library on Friday, February 28.