THE Manning Valley will tomorrow farewell one of its favourite medicos, Dr Bill Bow.
Between the 1950s, when he first arrived in Taree, and the 1990s, when he retired, Dr Bow was responsible for bringing literally thousands of Manning babies into the world.
He was also an active member of the wider community with a close involvement in Taree Apex Club, Taree Golf Club and a host of other organisations.
He was the last surviving partner of one of Taree's best known medical practices, known for several decades as 'Hunter, Bow and Liggins', and which became ultimately Taree Medical Centre, which still exists at Chatham.
The region has lost all three of the pioneering medicos within the last 12 months. Dr Bruce Hunter died in August last year and Dr Tony Liggins in April this year.
Dr Bow died in Melbourne on June 16 at the age of 84.
A memorial service in his honour will be held in the chapel of Manning Great Lakes Memorial Gardens at Pampoolah at 11am tomorrow, with a large number of family and lifelong friends and colleagues expected to attend.
Dr Bow was born at Ashfield, in Sydney, and left school at an early age to work first as a mechanic, and then in the laboratory at Sydney University.
His peers there were aware of his capabilities and suggested he could 'do better' if he went back to complete his schooling.
This he did at Canterbury High School, completing his final two years' study in just 12 months. After gaining a scholarship to study medicine at Sydney University, he went on to become a registrar at Crown Street Women's Hospital and the prestigious Sydney Hospital, where he specialised in anaesthetics, pathology and obstetrics.
After completing his registrar years he entertained thoughts of joining the Royal Flying Doctor Service, however it was a colleague who was one year behind him in medicine school ? Bruce Hunter ? who suggested a partnership in establishing a general practice in Taree.
Dr Hunter and wife Mary, and Dr Bow and wife Nancy all arrived in Taree at the same time to begin the practice in rooms at the lower end of Pulteney Street, underneath the former Taree RSL.
Dr Tony Liggins joined them a short time later as the practice rapidly expanded.
Still later, Dr Colin Rose joined the practice which moved to Chatham and became Taree Medical Centre.
Dr Bow's medical service to the people of the Manning was performed in an era when specialists were few and far between, and transferring patients between hospitals for specialist attention was almost unheard of.
Like most medicos of his time, he enjoyed the challenge of not just general practice but specialities such as obstetrics. His family and private life were countless times put on hold by the need to deliver a baby at any time of the night or day.
A keen Rugby player having played first grade for Western Suburbs, Dr Bow took up golf after arriving in Taree and was a longtime member of the Taree club.
He served Apex until the mandatory retiring age, and was involved in hundreds of community projects carried out by the Taree club in its heyday. He also partnered with prominent Taree dentist Warren Berry in a trailblazing softwood project on land at Kolodong in the 1960s, planting thousands of trees with the help of local high school students.
As their four children were growing up, Dr Bow and Nancy were deeply involved with a host of the children's sporting pursuits, including Taree Amateur Swimming Club, Manning River Sailing Club and Coopernook and District Pony Club.
Dr Bow gradually eased out of his medical career in his late 60s, but in retirement continued to be extremely active in the Hallidays Point area, where he and Nancy spent many happy years.
He was a member of the tireless Black Head 'Dad's Army' and of Black Head Bowling Club.
After Nancy's death he moved to Sydney to be closer to family, and then more recently to Melbourne, where he passed away peacefully.
Dr Bow is survived by his children Debbie (who now lives in the UK), Steve (Canada), Jennie (the US) and Sue (Melbourne), by their partners Christopher, Judy, Dave and Simon, and by his eight grandchildren, Andrew, Alice, Chris, Peter, Scott, David, Mathew and Thomas.
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