The career of a later well know dentist surgeon, Albert ‘Bert’ Edward Heathcote, had a somewhat shaky start as the following article will show:
Albert ‘Bert’ Edward Heathcote – Western Argus
Kalgoorlie Western Argus 7 May 1907, page 27
Unregistered Dentist Fined for Practising.
At the Boulder court, Tuesday before the R.M. Mr. E.P. Dowley, Albert Edward Heathcote (age 28yrs), was charged with having performed dental services without having a license to do so on April 3 and April 14 1907. Mr Scott, for the defendant, pleaded guilty, but pointed out that the defendant, who was a young man, had served his apprenticeship and had his articles, but he had yet to go up for his final examination in September before he could be registered. He was recently engaged as a chemist’s assistant at Boulder, but did not do any dental work. On both occasions, the services were rendered on Sundays at his own home.
The Magistrate pointed out that April 3 was not a Sunday. Mr Scott said his instructions were that the date was wrong, as he was instructed that it was a Sunday. The men in both instances were suffering severely from a toothache, and they were unable to get the services of a dentist. Sergeant Kelso, for the prosecution, said the facts were very different. The defendant appeared to be in regular practice as a dentist at his house in Forrest street and many other cases could, if needed, be brought against him. There was one instance where he received a fee of £5 5s for filling and gold-topping a tooth. The defendant was fined £8, with £2 3s costs. He was allowed a month in which to pay.
However, by 1910, he must have, in the interim, become fully qualified, as the following article would suggest:
Kalgoorlie Miner 22 December 1910, page 2
Kalgoorlie Miner 23 December 1909, page 8
Albert Edward Heathcote:
Considerable enterprise and progression have marked the business of Mr A. E. Heathcote, dental surgeon. In addition to the well-known surgery at 57 Piesse Street, Boulder, where several improvements have been effected, Mr Heathcote has taken over the business of William Boxall.
The rooms in the McKenzie’s Buildings, Hannan Street, have been fitted up in a very comfortable way and are now fully equipped with all the latest and best appliances for carrying on an up-to-date and successful dental practice. The proprietor makes doubly sure in guaranteeing all his work, in addition to keeping a first-class staff, nothing but the very best and most expensive quality of material is used.
The McKenzie Building is still showing the ‘Dentist’ sign in the window.
In both Kalgoorlie and Boulder Mr. Heathcote has been appointed as honorary dentist to the Friendly Societies Association, the appointment in each town being highly appreciated by the members of the various lodges and their families. A branch business is conducted in the Laslett Buildings, opposite the Post Office, Kalgoorlie, in the suite of rooms recently occupied by Dr Wilson, and here again everything is suggestive of the close attention to detail that is characteristic of the business of Mr Heathcote.
Mr E. S. Matheson, R.D.S., represents Mr Heathcote in Kalgoorlie, and although recently arrived from Perth, is rapidly becoming a favourite in the dental world of the fields.
Biography: Albert Edward Heathcote was born on 18 Jun 1878 in Ecclesfield, Yorkshire, England. He was the son of Thomas HEATHCOTE and Caroline CRITCHLOW.
He first married Margaret Ellen ALDAY in Boulder in 1906; she died in Perth in 1915 and is buried in the Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth.
The children from this marriage were:
Edna M., born in Boulder in 1909, died in Boulder in 1911
Stillborn Male Boulder 1912 – (Edna and the stillborn baby boy are buried together in the Methodist section of the Boulder Cemetery).
Miles Paul was born in Boulder in 1913.
Albert was to remarry in 1916, the year after his wife died. His new bride was Ivy Gertrude SEWELL, and they married in Pingell,y WA. They were to have a further two children: Dawn Pax Frances b 1918, and Rafael Rex b 1921.
Image – Find a Grave
Albert died in Southern Cross on 16 Mar 1946, aged 67 years, and he was cremated at the Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth. A few years before his death, he was operating a surgery in Bruce Rock, where he was known as ‘Molar Mauler Heathcote’. It’s hoped that this was a friendly nickname and not a reflection on his patient care.
Moya Sharp
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