Dr Peter Wells

Peter Wells was born on 31 January 1936 in Adelaide, the eldest child of Harold and Irene. Harold worked as a clerk and his mother had emigrated to Australia from the UK.

Peter’s sister Pauline was born in 1940. Peter’s family life was simple as finances were tight. Travel was very local and infrequent and trips to the movies were big treats. With an English mother Peter and Pauline were taught good manners and taught how to dress and behave appropriately.

Peter was educated at Rose Park Primary School and later Adelaide High School. During these years he played the flute (encouraged by his father who was a talented flautist) and loved to play tennis. He performed well academically, and his father encouraged him to consider attending university despite knowing that this would put great financial stress on the family. Peter graduated from Adelaide High with one of the highest scores in the state and was granted a scholarship to study medicine at Adelaide University.

While at university he travelled around on a BSA Bantam motorbike. He would also ferry his mum on the back so that she could visit her mother in Lockleys.

Peter commenced his medical career at the newly finished and modern Queen Elizabeth Hospital. During this time, he attended a party with staff from the hospital and met his future wife, Pat. Pat recalls that she reluctantly attended this party as she was tired – her nursing friends insisted she come along. Mum describes that there was a lot of laughter and noise – she was sure patients in nearby wards must have heard the commotion. She met Dad, they married in 1960 and they remained happily together for 62 years. They only ever spent a night apart if a hospital admission necessitated they be separated.

Peter and Pat had three children: Stuart in 1962, Susan in 1965, and Richard in 1970. We were all encouraged to study hard and make the most of our education, and we all attained degrees in medicine or science. Peter expected us to maintain his standards of punctuality, manners and having respect for all. He instilled in us that the number one priority was family and dropping other things to help other family members was of paramount importance.

Peter became a general practitioner, working in the suburbs around Marion and Glenelg. General practice at that time included obstetrics and minor surgery, and he was a sought-after GP anaesthetist. Pat recalls many nights when he would be called out multiple times to deliver babies and attend to emergencies at home. Before working in general practice, he worked as a government medical officer in Alice Springs, which included working with the Royal Flying Doctor Service. With her RN qualifications, Pat would sometimes accompany him on the plane journeys. He left this job after about a year as he didn’t like the bureaucracy in Canberra telling him what he could and could not do!

He also liked to stand up for those who were vulnerable. He and many of the other local GPs at the time volunteered as duty doctors for a month each year at the Kate Cocks Baby Home, where unmarried women would have their babies. The babies were quickly removed after birth and adopted out to married couples. Peter was compassionate towards the young women and cross when some of the other staff treated them poorly.

In his early years in general practice Peter was heavily involved in the local Southwestern Suburbs Medical Association as secretary and chairperson. He was also chairperson of SAPMEA. In these roles he followed the development of the Flinders Medical Centre and the new Flinders Medical School with great interest. Unlike many of his peers he was excited to see change and embraced the development of a new centre of medical excellence. His enthusiasm for the Flinders University Medical School contributed to the decisions by Susan and Richard to study medicine at Flinders University.

During the 1960s and ’70s Peter worked very long hours. In 1974 he felt burnt out and needed a circuit breaker. The family spent a year in Bristol, where he worked as a locum doctor and studied for and passed the UK MRCGP.

As he slowly relinquished obstetric and anaesthetic duties, Peter enjoyed teaching the next generation of GPs. He worked as a specialist GP in the Flinders Medical Centre emergency department, encouraging young doctors to consider general practice as a vocation, and he supervised GPs enrolled in the GP training program at his practice. He was delighted when Susan joined him in practice at Seacombe Medical Centre in 1991.

He remained enthusiastic about general practice but was concerned about the loss of obstetric, surgical and anaesthetic skills in city practices. He was, therefore, equally delighted when Richard chose a surgical career. Peter read medical literature extensively and made sure both of us kept our knowledge updated!

Over the next two decades Peter continued to love his work (his patients were very loyal, and he thought of many of them as special friends), his love of travel continued and he, Pat and sometimes other family members would travel to many parts of Australia and around the world. The UK was always his favourite place. He loved the quote ‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life’.

Peter retired at the age of 75. This was not an easy transition for him as work had always been such a significant part of his identity.

Peter also loved his cars and tractors.

He and Pat purchased an almond orchard at Sellicks Hill in the ’80s. They would spend many weekends enjoying the peace and learning a little about the tough world of agriculture. Here he bought his first tractor and was never happier than when he was out and about riding on it. Pat and Peter subsequently built their dream home on five acres in the Hills where he always had his tractor nearby to manage the property and slashing the grass was a pleasurable pastime.

After relocating to the suburbs just before he turned 70, he was overjoyed when Richard purchased a hills property, and a new tractor was available!

Nine grandchildren (now aged between 15 and 35) and one great grandchild (now aged one) brought great joy to Peter. Peter was the wise grandfather who was able to give all sorts of practical advice about life in general and his grandchildren savoured their time with him. Just five days before his death he celebrated Stuart’s 60th birthday with a family dinner and was excited to hear that a second great-grandchild was on the way.

Peter was a wonderfully loyal friend to many from all walks of life. He gave speeches at many weddings and was asked to give eulogies at multiple funerals. He and Pat travelled widely, both with family and with many groups of friends they had met here and abroad over the years.

Health issues in recent years resulted in frailty and coupled with the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic slowed his activities. Nonetheless he remained living at home with Pat until an acute medical event two days before his death. He remained sharp witted and continued to extensively read medical and other literature during these years.