It took Gunning district woman Tracy Bassett a very short time to solve a mystery that had stumped a local history group for several years.
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Thanks in part to her efforts, the owner of a mysterious medical case found three and a half years ago in a cupboard at Bourke Street Health Service has been identified as Dr David Henchman.
Ms Bassett, a historical researcher of Ladevale, near Gunning, said it took her just 20 minutes to dive down the "rabbit hole" and find the most likely owner.
"It was just an interesting story and a piece of history and a mystery always piques my interest," she said.
"...I was glad to help out in a small way."
The Goulburn Hospital Historical Cataloguing Volunteer Group discovered the case with the following note:
"This 'black bag' was used by my brother-in-law Dr Varnum Southworth MD in Cambridge, Maryland, USA. He was a U.S.N reservist, and was in the Guadalcanal campaign, where he became ill and subsequently died. I got the bag after WW2 and used it in my GP days."
Ms Bassett said she delved into Dr Southworth's wife's family links and through a process of elimination, concluded the case most likely belonged to paediatrician, Dr David Henchman.
Following their call-out last week, the Southern NSW Health District had "dozens of email" responses. A history buff from the United States also helped group volunteer Jenny Sullivan connect the link she had missed.
Dr Henchman was connected to Dr Southworth through Dr Henchman's father, Hereward Henchman, who was a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland from March 5, 1929 to April 25, 1939.
Hereward Henchman married twice. In his first marriage to Theresa Francesca Goller from 1903 to 1914, they had one son, Hereward, and one daughter, Gwynneth. In 1919, he married Edith Isabel Maud Holliday, and they had two sons, David (born 1920) and Adrian (born 1927).
David was Gwynneth's step-brother, and in 1939, Gwynneth married Dr Southworth, creating the family link with Dr Henchman.
Dr Henchman was a general practitioner in Canberra from 1951 before moving to Goulburn in 1976. He was a paediatrician and worked at Goulburn's child development unit.
He passed away aged 87 in July, 2007 after a lifetime of service to the medical profession.
At the time, his widow and second wife, artist Lois Henchman (now deceased) told The Post that he never wanted to become a "big-time medico;" he simply wanted to help people.
He arrived in Goulburn seeking a slower pace of life and was employed by the Health Commission as a paediatrician, working from Cowper Street rooms.
Dr Henchman came from a family of lawyers and judges but medicine offered the chance for a different career path.
He studied at Sydney University but when World War Two interrupted, he served as a captain in the Army's medical unit. After the war he worked in New Guinea, looking after Japanese and Korean prisoners of war.
Dr Henchman married his first wife, Jane, after travelling to England in 1947 to further his training.
On his return to Australia he started in general practice in Canberra before transitioning to paediatrics.
He was highly respected and this continued during his time in Goulburn.
Even after 'retirement' in 1985, he was active in the community. He continued part-time medical tests on school children and was a visiting medical officer at Kenmore Hospital.
Dr Henchman was a Goulburn Rotary Club member, worked tirelessly for charities such as The Smith Family and visited aged care residents weekly.
In latter years, he was a bellringer at his beloved Saint Saviour's Cathedral, drawn by the art's mathematical challenges.
Bellringers performed a special peal of bells for his funeral service in 2007, which also included his favourite hymn, Make Me a Channel of Your Peace. Appropriately, he was buried in the Saint Saviour's Cathedral churchyard.
"He was a quiet achiever who people respected," Mrs Henchman said at the time.
Mrs Henchman died in May, 2008.
While the case owner's identity has been solved, the volunteer group is intrigued as to how it ended up at Bourke Street Health Service and remained there with the mysterious tag attached.
"That would finish off the story," a Health District spokeswoman said.
All information received will be kept in the volunteer group's collection with the doctor's bag to show its history and story.
Anyone with information can email Katherine.lee2@health.nsw.gov.au
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If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.com.au or call 0418 229 678.
If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.com.au or call 0418 229 678.
