(Material researched & presented by Barbara Armstrong)

[ca 1806 - 1883]

Thomas Walker was an early pioneer of Cheltenham (then Beaumaris), Melbourne, settling there around 1852. Walker's near neighbours were William Ruse and his family who had returned from the goldfields and had established a market garden in the area. Both families had emigrated from the same area near Chester, England.

Having been associated with the Church of Christ at Mollington, near Chester in England, Mr Walker became one of the founding members of the Church in the area of Moorabbin, Brighton and East Brighton. In the earliest years, when there was no chapel, services were held in Mr Walker's house. Walker was well-known to fellow Church of Christ member and homœopath, Samuel Kidner, who regularly visited the church from 1858 to 1860 and mentioned "Brother Walker" in his letters to England. In March 1859 Kidner recorded that Walker had been chosen as pastor. He also recorded that after one of the church meetings at Brighton, he "went home with our esteemed Brother Walker". Walker was one of the evening preachers at the opening of the new church at Brighton in March 1860.

Along with William Ruse, Thomas Walker acted as a lay prescriber of homœopathic medicines in the district.

By 1865 Thomas Walker had decided to make a career from homœopathy and moved to Bendigo (at that time called "Sandhurst"). He established the Homœopathic Dispensary, located "next Bath Hotel, View Point". (View Point is the area of Bendigo near the central fountain.) In September 1865 he advertised the sale of Gould's Homœopathic Cocoa.

His friends in Cheltenham sent a testimonial letter to wish him well in his venture:

TO MR THOS. WALKER, HOMŒOPATHIST, SANDHURST

DEAR SIR, - We, the householders and inhabitants of Brighton, East Brighton, Cheltenham, and Moorabbin, whose names are attached to the testimonials forwarded to your address this day, desire publicly to express our high approval of your skill and conduct in the practice of Homœopathy while attending the sick of our families during your stay of thirteen years amongst us; and so most cordially recommend the system as a pleasant, safe, and effectual means of cure.

                                                Signed for the whole,

                                                WM. FRANCIS

The testimonials were signed by 157 householders and inhabitants of the townships.

Walker sold medicine chests, re-filled phials and tubes with globules, &c; arnica plasters and tinctures for bruises, &c; homœopathic machines for nervous diseases; Gould's and Turner's homœopathic cocoa.

In June 1866 he advertised that The Homœopathic Dispensary and Galvanic Rooms (T. Walker, Principal) was to be visited by Dr Gunst of Melbourne every alternate Sunday, where he would provide consultations.

In February 1868 Mr Walker advised that he would attend patients "at his private residence, Barnard Street, fourth house from Bulvidere Hotel, "until more suitable premises can be procured".

Meanwhile, Walker continued to treat patients when requested. According to him, he never interfered with cases in which medically-qualified men were employed, but only prescribed when a medical practitioner was either not involved or had ceased treatment.

Walker admitted that he had never had any education in medicine or surgery. He said that he did not honestly consider himself competent to diagnose diseases, but from twenty years' experience and reading homœopathic books he gave his medicines according to the illnesses he met with.

Mr Walker died on 22 September 1883 at the home of his son-in-law in Cheltenham.

© Barbara Armstrong