William McTaggart Dorsey (1813 – 16 May 1878) was an English-born Australian medical practitioner who played an active role in the development of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

. He was born at

Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in northern Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire and West Midlands County.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

to Alexander Dorsey and Elizabeth Donald. He attended the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, where he studied medicine. He married Margaret Douglas in 1837, and in 1839 sailed for New Zealand, arriving at

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in 1840. Finding little success, he moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

later in the year and was certified to practise medicine; he settled at Bathurst. In 1842 he moved to

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

and in 1843 built a house in

, where he practised. He also leased pastoral land on the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generall ...

, where he ran sheep. Dorsey was an enthusiastic and pugnacious advocate for the further development of the district. Dorsey also expanded his own pastoral holdings, purchasing land around Moreton Bay and further afield. He returned to Glasgow to study for his

Doctorate of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

, which he received in 1857. On his return, he was forced to sell land but was nonetheless insolvent from 1862. In 1865 he became government medical officer for the local immigration depot and departments of railway and police. Persistent attempts to increase his salary and working conditions failed, and he soon focused instead on his private practice. He died of heart disease in 1878.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorsey, William 1813 births 1878 deaths 19th-century Australian medical doctors English emigrants to colonial Australia Alumni of the University of Glasgow People from Ipswich, Queensland People from Warwickshire (before 1974) Australian general practitioners Colony of Queensland people