Historical information
Dr. Ian Stephen MacLeod Murphy (1905-1981) was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 1977 New Year Honours for his services to the health of his community. A dinner at the Emerald Country Club on 9 Feb 1977 was arranged by community members to celebrate his receipt of the award.
Dr Murphy studied at Geelong College (1919-1922) and Melbourne University (1929-1937). In World War II, he served with the Royal Australian Navy (1939-1945) He moved to Emerald in 1947 after running a successful medical practice in Hampton, with the intention of retiring and breeding turkeys. But Emerald and the surrounding districts had no doctor, so for the next 34 years, the well-loved Dr. Murphy provided unremitting medical care to the local community. He died in 1981 at the age of 76 years and a Memorial Fund was set up in his name to provide support for local students studying Medicine.
Significance
This celebratory dinner on the receipt of his New Year award is testament to the esteem with which Dr Murphy was held by the Emerald community.
Physical description
Manilla folder opening out to two pages. Left page has autographs of attendees. Right page has the menu and order of events.
