The 83-year-old died at Dubbo Private Hospital on Remembrance Day. He had been an in-patient for the final three months of a long and courageous battle with prostate cancer.

Doug and his wife Joan conducted themselves with dignity throughout the illness. Their’s was a great love story, stretching over 67 years. To the last, Joan serenaded Doug with treasured songs. Together they shared precious memories and a passion for family, education, writing, research, history and all things Dubbo.

Doug was born in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Annandale on February 21, 1926 but spent most of his childhood and much of his later years in Dubbo.

Doug’s grandmother ran a boarding house in Darling Street, where the civic centre now stands, and he never forgot the down and outers coming for help during the Depression.

Those memories and a tremendous work ethic stuck with Doug through life, propelling him onwards, striving for success.

He worked hard, even as a boy, and by age 11 was earning almost as much money as the average adult male - as a paper boy for the Despatch newspaper, caddy at Dubbo Golf Club and tray boy at Enderby’s Café in Talbragar Street.

Interested in broadening his knowledge, Doug did a correspondence course on writing and journalism. He reckoned there was money to be made as a freelance journalist and started writing for the Daily Liberal 60 years ago.

Doug was a student at Dubbo High from 1938 to 1942 when he put up his age by several years to join the Royal Australian Navy. He spent almost three years at sea and during that time married Joan Fisher at Holy Trinity Church.

After WWII Doug decided to become a teacher and that meant returning to school for 12 months to qualify for university admission. He created a precedent by becoming the first married man and father enrolled as a student at Dubbo High.

After gaining a BA and Diploma in Education at Sydney University Doug was amazed to receive Dubbo High as his first teaching appointment.

After 18 months he became one of the first Australians to be awarded a Fullbright Scholarship to study in America. With a master’s degree in education completed Doug went on to set up a lecturing service for the Department of Immigration in London before working with Prince Phillip as executive director for the Duke of Edinburgh Commonwealth study conference.

Doug later became part of a team of executives working to establish the Queensland Board of Advanced Education and took on the position of Dean of Humanities and Social Services at the Capricornia Institute of Advanced Education at Rockhampton.

After an enjoyable period at Alstonville during the 1980s Doug and Joan returned to Dubbo to take on the challenges of tourism management.

Doug became a prolific writer and researcher during retirement, completing numerous magazine and newspaper articles and producing a vast array of local histories detailing everything from education and sport to agriculture and the legal profession.

Doug’s last great project was a complete timeline of Dubbo from early settlement and the present day through to Doug’s vision for the future.

The timeline will be available to the local community through the Dubbo library.

Doug is survived by sons Tony, Peter and Mark, six grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at Holy Trinity Anglican Church from 2pm on Monday.

heather.crosby@

ruralpress.com