Dr Williams was born at Liverpool in 1868 and gained his medical diplomas at the College of Surgery at the University of Dublin (reference). Dr Williams is credited with establishing the first Bunbury Government Hospital, later called the Bunbury District Hospital (reference). Dr Williams arrived in Western Australia in 1893 from England and came to Bunbury in 1895 after two years as the Medical Officer in Carnarvon (reference). He was the Government Medical Officer in Bunbury from 1895 to 1909. Dr Williams was also a lieutenant with the Bunbury Volunteer Rifles in 1901 and Captain in Command in 1903. He enjoyed horse racing, sailing and photography (reference). In 1909, Dr Williams was transferred to Fremantle as the Resident Medical Officer (reference). He later set up a private practice in Perth. In his retirement, he established one of the first citrus orchards (Eden Bower) in the Harvey district (reference).
On 12 July 1905, the house at 12 Molloy Street was sold to A. W. Raynes for £90 (reference).
Rayes then sold it to Robert Smith Taylor for £580 in 1906 (reference).
In 1920 Eva Ella Moxon sold the house to Ruby Evelyn Jackson for £575 (reference).
The house was sold again in 1934 and was purchased by Allan Murray McGregor for £785 (reference). The property stayed in possession as the McGregor family, Allan and Louise’s home, until at least 1952 (reference). In 1948 their youngest daughter, Margaret Amy Mcgregor, became engaged to Kenneth Noel Teede (reference). On 9 November 1952, Allan and Louise’s eldest son, Murray John McGregor, passed away in Bunbury at 37 years old from an illness caught during his war service he never recovered from (reference).
In 1999 the house was owned by Thomas “Bill” Clarke. Mr Clarke told some of the histories of the house in an oral history interview in the 1990s (reference).
Molloy Street was named after John and Eliza Molloy, who arrived in Fremantle in 1830 and settled in Augusta and then Vasse (reference).
Residents of 12 Molloy Street
1900 Dr David Williams
1905 A W Raynes
1906 Robert Smith Taylor
-1920 Eva Ella Moxon
1920- Ruby Evelyn Jackson
1934- 1952+ Allan and Louise McGregor. Their children Murray, Allan, Doreen and
Margaret lived there or regularly visited. See Murray John McGregor’s
biography for more details.
1999 Thomas Clarke
More information on this property can be found at http://inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au/