Dr Helen Ferguson 1931- 2021
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Former Shepparton GP Helen Ferguson has been remembered as a passionate and lively community contributor who gave much to the health and cultural life of the city.
Dr Ferguson, with her cardiac surgeon husband ‘Fergie’, practised in the city for 25 years from 1960 before moving to Melbourne in 1985.
Son Richard Ferguson said his mother was still practising medicine until a few weeks before her death at Epworth Hospital on January 27, aged 90.
Helen Margaret Ferguson (nee Cowan) was born in County Durham in the UK in 1931.
At 16 years old she won a scholarship to study medicine and went on to graduate as one of Durham University's first intake of female doctors in 1954, specialising in women's health and psychology.
Mr Ferguson said as a teenager with a love of the stage, his mother had been talent-spotted by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and faced a hard choice between pursuing a career in medicine or the arts.
“Her father, Norman Cowan, gave her some sound advice,” Mr Ferguson said.
“He said you might not always have an acting job, but there will always be sick people.”
She married thoracic surgeon William ‘Fergie’ Ferguson in 1955 and they emigrated to Australia in 1958 when Fergie was offered a position in Sydney.
While Fergie flew via Qantas, Dr Ferguson worked her passage as ship's doctor on a merchant vessel. She undertook the three-month trip with her seven-month-old son Tim in tow and while pregnant with her second child, Richard.
Mr Ferguson said when his parents moved to Shepparton in 1960, the city's population was about 12,000 but it was already a busy service centre for surrounding towns.
The Fergusons bought an established practice on Wyndham St from Dr Bill Armstrong, later moving it to Maude St.
They also built a contemporary-style home designed by architect Guilford Bell in Kingfisher Dve, in the city's north.
Mr Ferguson said when he was growing up with sister Lisa and brother Tim, the Fergusons formed firm friendships with Shepparton's Furphy and Cameron families.
“How a community welcomes newcomers is really important and Shepparton really welcomed these two Pommy doctors and their family,” he said.
Mr Ferguson said his mother was a passionate advocate for the arts and was instrumental in the creation of Shepparton Theatre Arts Group through the amalgamation of the Light Opera Company and the Shepparton Dramatic Society in the mid 1970s.
A post on STAG's social media page noted Dr Ferguson was president from 1977-79 and remained a great supporter of the group over many years.
“Her organisational skills came to the fore many times as she was production manager for large musicals and plays,” the post read.
“She was a delightful woman who was very giving and a great support to the company and individuals as well. Members have fond memories of Helen, she was an amazing cook and hostess whose ‘after parties’ are still referred to as ‘the stuff of legend'.”
Dr Ferguson was also a founding member of the Shepparton branch of the professional women's organisation Soroptimist International.
According to Melbourne's professional women's organisation The Lyceum Club, of which Dr Ferguson was a member for 46 years, she was nicknamed "Fixit Fergie" by her patients.
Mr Ferguson remembered his mother as a great role model.
“She had three young children, was building a business and practising as a doctor - she was a working woman at a time when that was sometimes frowned upon,” Mr Ferguson said.
“She saw her job as raising three independent children, and she always taught us to make a difference.”
Mr Ferguson is a museum curator and project manager, his sister Lisa is an allied health worker and psychotherapist living in the UK, while his brother Tim is a financier and community developer working in Japan and the United States.
Retired Shepparton doctor Selena Quilty remembered her colleague as a dedicated medical practitioner with a loyal following of patients, particularly women.
“She delivered a lot of babies and women loved her at a time when there were not many female doctors in Shepparton,” Dr Quilty said.
“Her work ethic and stamina was incredible. Her breakfast was a cup of coffee and then she was off.”
She said the Fergusons were responsible for her and her GP husband Bill's move from Sydney to Shepparton in 1965.
“Bill wanted to practise in a country town, so he advertised in the Australian Medical Journal. When the Fergusons saw it they invited us down to Shepparton and wined and dined us and we fell in love with the place,” Dr Quilty said.
She said Dr Ferguson came up with the “brilliant” idea of regularly taking a busload of people to see Melbourne Theatre Company performances during the 1980s.
“She loved theatre and classical music. She was a unique and determined person,” she said.
Retired real estate agent and early Shepparton Theatre Arts Group member Pat O'Connell said Dr Ferguson was a vibrant and intellectual contributor to the community life of Shepparton.
He said Dr Ferguson was responsible for bringing Melbourne musicians and theatre experts such as director John Finlayson to Shepparton.
“She gave a lot to medicine, the theatre and the arts in Shepparton. She was a visionary and she was funny and quirky. She was someone who thought outside the box,” Mr O'Connell said.
He said Dr Ferguson had a real gift as a motivator.
“She was genuinely interested in people. She was utterly in the moment when she spoke to you,” he said.
● A private service to celebrate the life of Helen Ferguson will be held on Friday, February 5,from 10 am. To view the service online, visit the tribute centre atwww.monkhouse.com.au
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