Snapshot of the past: Dr William Martin

A photograph of Drouin veterinary surgeon William (Bill) Martin (left) alongside Bill Kraft (middle) and Don Roberts.
Dr Martin was known to many as "the man who loved cows".
Bill arrived in Melbourne from Oxfordshire in October 1948 with his wife and two young children.
His first job of advisor within the Department of Agriculture Warragul proved to be predominantly paperwork, not at all to Bill's practical skills.
When he was approached by Drouin Cooperative Butter Factory manager Bill Kraft to work as veterinary surgeon to all the dairy farmers in the cooperative, Bill jumped at it.
Veterinary surgery was a relatively new profession in Australia and Bill's registration number of 17 shows the scarcity of practitioners, particularly in rural areas.
At the time, Drouin was a small town of about 2500 people, with the main employer being the butter factory. It was a major supplier to the Melbourne market, with tankers emblazoned "Drouin milk-best by test" a familiar sight along "The Milky Way", also known as the Princes Highway.
The region's high rainfall and lush pastures made it very suitable for dairy cattle. But winters were hard, and farmers knew little about animal husbandry and hygiene which became a major focus for Bill's work.
The area he covered was huge, with farms scattered over undeveloped roads. There were no mobile phones and not even two-way radios. Mr Pretty in Jindivick would erect a sign outside his store or call the farm Bill was attending to pass on messages. Swaffields at Neerim South would also put up a sign asking him to call in.
Bill dashing along gravel roads, farm tracks and over paddocks in his Volkswagen to get to the inevitable cow down, often in a creek, was a familiar sight.
These were the early days of antibiotics in veterinary practice, and Bill welcomed them and used them. However, he realised they would not be a universal panacea and was concerned overuse would create resistance to infection.
Bill was involved in many community causes. In 1965, he became a Buln Buln Shire councillor, a position he held until his death in 1976.
Photograph and information courtesy of Stories of Drouin.
Visit storiesofdrouin.com.au to hear the story of Dr William Martin as told by his daughter Esther.
Stories of Drouin is a cooperative oral history project between The Committee for Drouin, Drouin History Group and 3BBR FM to preserve local stories.