The new face on the Fleurieu is country Doctor and Surgeon John Shepherd, who has been a lifelong advocate for the rights of country doctors, as well as serving for the Australian Army in Vietnam, Solomon Islands and East Timor.
John, also known as ‘Jack’ Shepherd throughout his career, was instrumental within the country doctor community, being President of Rural Medicine in 1997, along with providing medical care to soldiers and communities in war torn countries.
John followed in his father’s footsteps in many respects, who was also a doctor and served as the Commanding Medical Officer in WWII from 1939-1943 for Australia.
John grew up in the Flinders Ranges with his mother and father, his mother from Strathalbyn and his father from Aldinga.
“My family loved coming down this way, they all loved Victor Harbor,” John said. When John was 18 years of age, he went off to Adelaide University to study medicine, however John had a long military connection, with his father being in the army
. “My father would go off to the army shoots as the doctor on call at Port Wakefield, I used to go with him and camp in the car as a kid,” John joked.
John would also help his father in the surgery, “From the age of 12 I used to hold the other end of an arm or leg so he could set it, then I would hold the torch while he operated,” he said.
One of John’s many stories was about his work with a small village in the Solomon Islands, where he and others provided building supplies and tools to help repair the local church, which was falling to pieces after the rebels had raided the village.
“I asked the army officer for building materials, he said he didn’t know anything about building and he was the engineer, so I went to the Corporal Tradesman. “I asked for cement mix, a cement mixer, a few 20 foot sheets of iron, all the tools and two wheelbarrows.
“He said yes on two conditions, one that I bring back the cement mixer and the other that I ‘lose’ the tools, because the villagers had nothing,” John said.
Along with his medical assistance in the army, John was also a GP at Jamestown for 28 years from 1978 until 2006, “It was the best time to ever do it,” he said
. In 1989, John submitted a surgical plan to Modbury hospital and in 1991 he presented at the first National Rural Health Conference in Toowoomba. John also stood up to the Australian Health Commission, being a continuous advocate for rural doctors rights.
“They wanted to make it so that any caesarean section could not be done outside of Adelaide,” John said.
Due to his work in providing surgical services, The Mid North theatre suite, located in Jamestown, was dedicated and opened by Dr Shepherd in 2019.
John was very humble, saying many of his opportunities were down to him “Being very lucky”
