Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Francesco ARIOTTI and Caterina nee PELLERINO

Husband of Muriel Mary Jane ARIOTTI nee SALLAWAY, 55 Dalhouse Street, Haberfield, NSW

Dr. Louis Ariotti's approach to medicine made him a hero in the field and in his outback office.  An ingenious problem-solver and compassionate character, Lou not only saved but enhanced lives.  Both WWII casualties and rural health services in Queensland were transformed by his work.

Lou was born in 1915 in Innisfail, Queensland, the son of Italian immigrants.  His early life in Innisfail was very basic, which served him well during his militry service and, later, as a doctor in outback Queensland.  In 1934 Lou enrolled in medical school at Sydney University and met his future wife Muriel Sallaway.

The day after he finished his medical internship he enlisted in the Army.  Lou was then shipped to New Guinea where he served in Buna.  After the Japanese lines retreated from Buna, Lou briefly returned to Australia and then was deployed to Morotai.  Lou remarked: 'the whole island seemed to be crowded with trooops and equipment.  The island was surrounded by hundred of Navy vessels, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, Corvette and LSTs.  During one night the whole of the 2/9th Division was goen.  We heard a few days later they had successfully landed in North Borneo at Brunei and Tarakan'.  At the conclusion of the war, Lou returned to Australia and was discharged in May 1946.

Lou went on to purchase a medical practice in Charleville in 1947, where he set the benchmark for future doctors.  He was the first regional surgeon to establish an operating theatre in his consulting rooms where he performed major surgical procedures.  Lou also established his own pathology and radiography services; he travelled to china to study acupuncture to complement surgial procedures; he enlisted local mechanics to build specialised equipment; he attended the Radium Insitutue in Brisbane to learn how to adminster radium treatment for cancer patients.  Lou's innovations and improvements meant that people no longer had to travel long distances for complex or lengthy treatments.

While Lous built his practice, he and Muriel also raised a family.  Together they had eight children, four girls - elizabeth, Anne, Kathleen, Fiona - and four boys - Michael, Louis, John and James.  At the same time, Lou volunteered with the Royal Flying Doctor Service and helped form the Rural Doctors Association of Queensland.  He was appointed its first patron.  In 1984, Muriel his wife of 43 years died after a long illness.  In 1986 Lou met and married Molly Collis (nee Gaven) with whom he shared 22 years of great love and affection.  In 2008, at the age of 93, he self-published his memoir 'the Guiding Hand with the Lord at the Helm; memoirs of an outback GP and Surgeon' six months before his death. 

Courtesy of WW2 Secret Base Charleville