Hansard - Lawrance Elsegood, Davies
Author: Mia Davies
Published on: 22-March-2011
I rise tonight to draw members’ attention to an extraordinary act of philanthropy that has benefited the community of Wyalkatchem and surrounding shires. Last Friday I attended a community event hosted by the Shire of Wyalkatchem to recognise the enormous generosity of the late Lawrence John Henry Elsegood. Larry was a long-time resident of Wyalkatchem who passed away in 2009.
Under the terms of his will, the Wyalkatchem Medical Centre was the main beneficiary of the estate, with the Shire of Wyalkatchem as the owner of the medical centre to receive $1.352 million towards the continuation of medical services in Wyalkatchem and the surrounding district. This sort of philanthropy is reasonably rare in Australia and is certainly worthy of recognition. The Wyalkatchem Medical Centre will now be known as the Larry Elsegood Medical Centre as a permanent reminder and expression of gratitude for his generous bequest.
I made the comment when addressing the gathering of community members that it was a far nicer occasion to stand before them to celebrate the generosity of someone from their own community donating funds to their community to continue their health services, than to stand with them in their town hall, as I did some months ago, to attend a crisis meeting about securing the services of a doctor for their town. With the indulgence of members, I will read out the dedication made on the day to recognise Larry Elsegood’s contribution as it will provide members with some background about what Larry did for the community.
The dedication, prepared by the shire president, Susan Bruse, and Mrs Robin Tilbrook, and read out by the deputy shire president, Quentin Davies, according to my notes, stated —
Larry Elsegood was born in Wyalkatchem in 1930 and his 78-year life was spent mainly in theWyalkatchem district. He spent his childhood days on Glenrowan farm and attended the Wyalkatchem school. At the completion of his schooling he joined the workforce on Glenrowan, his family farm.
His long record of community involvement started early when he was playing football for Nalkain and cricket for South Korrelocking. He was a foundation contributor to the Wyalkatchem and Districts Club and a member of the Nalkain Bush Fire Brigade for 49 years. He joined Lions and was an activemember. He was awarded Rotary’s prestigious Paul Harris Fellowship for exemplary work in community service. He was a shire councillor for 22 years, from 1967 to 1989, and was made a Freeman of the Shire, a privilege granted to very few. Larry was also a member of the hospital board for about 22 years. He argued strongly during this time for the retention of local involvement in hospitals. He also served on the senior citizens’ board for many years. Larry was instrumental in establishing the Wyalkatchem CBH Museum committee and became its founding president and worked hard on exhibits and surroundings.
He was President and benefactor of the Wylie Football and Cricket Clubs, and a loyal supporter of both. He was made a Life Member of both organisations. In a time when hay carting was a good means of fund raising for the Cricket Club, hay carting at Larry’s was not to be missed. Not only did he pay well, but his mother’s scones were of such proportion and ‘deliciousness’ that hay carting at Larry’s reached legendary status.
One of his greatest achievements saw him only four months short of 50 years as a member, supporter, driver and servant of the St John Ambulance Service. Larry joined in 1960 and was a committee member until 2009. He was President from 1966 to 1971, 1982 to 1983 and 1995 to 1999. It was during his first stint as President that the new building was built and opened in November 1970. He carted the bricks back from Perth as a donation. Larry was awarded Life Membership in 1971, made a Serving Brother in 1986 and an Officer Brother in 1994, the most venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem.
Larry was gatekeeper for the Wyalkatchem Trotting Club for around 8 years, and a generous supporter. He donated bags of oats to each winning horse, oats he had bagged himself. In those days oats were worth a considerable amount.
In later life, Larry delighted in attending Council meetings where, at Question Time, he could always be trusted to make a few Councillors and staff squirm with his forthright questions.
During his last days in the Wyalkatchem Hospital, he was very grateful for the care and support of the staff.
A hard worker, Larry ran an excellent profitable farming operation until his health declined. His life was a most worthy one highlighted by generosity and service to his community and his most generous bequest is hugely appreciated
Those are the words that were read out to the community gathering on Friday. It is testament to Larry and his contribution to the community that a large number of people turned out to this event, including past and present residents, neighbouring shire representatives and local and federal members of Parliament. The ABC Mid West radio ran its program from Wylie that afternoon, broadcasting from the veranda of Lady Nova House, which is one of the nursing homes in Wyalkatchem and a beautiful turn-of-the-century home, and interviewing local identities and the people who have contributed to the health service in Wylie for many years.
It also highlights the importance of access to quality health care to this community, and it is not unique in any way. This is an issue that my Nationals colleagues and I have been working to raise the profile of within state and federal governments to ensure that country health services and infrastructure are appropriately resourced. The generosity of Larry’s bequest is far more than just dollars and cents. The knowledge that this community can now contribute to the provision of quality health services in the future brings a sense of security that is priceless to that community, and that was expressed on the day. It was a wonderful event to attend. As a daughter of Wyalkatchem, it was wonderful to be there to see someone like him honoured for the contribution he made to our town. It really showed me the spirit of what it meant to grow up in a small regional town and how many hats some of these people wear to make sure that future generations can enjoy the services that they did when they were growing up.
