NISBET, Walter Blake
| Service Numbers: | Not yet discovered |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Major |
| Last Unit: | 4th Queensland Imperial Bushmen |
| Born: | Sunderland, Durham, England, United Kingdom, 15 October 1861 |
| Home Town: | Townsville, Townsville, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Brisbane Grammar School, Queensland; Edinburgh University |
| Occupation: | General Medical Practitioner |
| Died: | Stroke, Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 7 May 1950, aged 88 years |
| Cemetery: |
West End (Old Townsville) Cemetery, Qld |
| Memorials: | Brisbane Grammar School Boer War Honour Board |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Major, Queensland Imperial Bushmen | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 May 1900: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Major, 4th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, Major (Army Medical Corps)-AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 475 notes 4th QIB embarked 18 May 1900 aboard Manchester Port arriving Beira 14 Jun 1900. | |
| 10 Aug 1901: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Major, 4th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 477 notes 4th QIB embarked 5 Jul 1901 aboard Britannic returning to Australia arriving Brisbane 5 Aug 1901, disbanded 10 Aug 1901. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
Dr. Walter Blake Nisbet was born on 15 Oct 1861 in Sunderland, England, UK, a son to Walter David Nisbet and Mary Elizabeth Nisbet (nee Collins). His parents emigrated to Australia when he was 12 years of age settling in Brisbane where he would attend Brisbane Grammar School, his father employed as an engineer with Harbours and Rivers Queensland.
After completing schooling in Brisbane he attended Edinburgh University, Scotland, studying medicine and graduating as a doctor. He worked as a Medical Practitioner at Halmslie in Yorkshire, England before returning to Australia and settling in Townsville in 1887 where he established his medical practise. He married Mildred Janet Booth (also from England) on 8 Mar 1890 at Toowong in Brisbane and they would have 4 children.
He joined the Defence Force in Townsville in 1889 and embarked with the 4th Queensland Imperial Bushmen as a Major (Army Medical Corps) for service in the South African (Boer) War from 1900 to 1901. On his return from the war he continued with his medical practise in Townsville as well as serving as a Federal Quarantine Officer and Medical Officer of Health for Townsville City and Thuringowa Council's. He died suddenly on 7 May 1920 collapsing while at work at his medical practise with cause suspected to be a burst blood vessel on the brain. Following his death his wife appears to have relocated to Sydney and tragically she died, while it would appear she was on a overseas trip, on 21 Nov 1902 at Chennai, India.
(source- extracted from his Obituary "Death of W. B. Nisbet" in the Townsville Daily Bulletin, 8 May 1290, p. 4)
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