The doctor is out right now
Photographed circa 1910, this mansion with distinguished Corinthian columns was found at 182 Collins St (now 41 Collins St, Collins Place Plaza) and, from 1872 until 1910, it was the home and surgery of notable doctor and politician-about-town, Louis Lawrence Smith.
Louis was born in London in 1830, studied at Ecole de Médecine in Paris and trained at Westminster Hospital. Like many young men during the 1850s, he was seduced by the siren call of gold and in 1852 arrived in Melbourne.
However, his stint on the goldfields left him penniless and frail from dysentery. Back in Melbourne, he established medical rooms at 197 Bourke St East (a few doors west of Pellegrini’s), then later moved across the street to 190-192 Bourke St East (now the Salvation Army).
He was famous for excessive advertising in a competitive industry, and it was claimed “it costs Dr Smith £3000 per annum for advertisements alone” (1857 article, Australian Home Companion found in The Age, February 7). He treated various ailments such as gout, rheumatism and venereal diseases (Colac Herald, March 10, 1876) and he also consulted by mail for £1.
His vegetable pills claimed to cure stomach disease, headache, heartburn and scurvy (The Banner, November 4). To further boost his growing reputation, he turned his Bourke St practice into a museum which featured a planetarium and wax anatomical models. However, not all was rosy, and, in 1858, he was one of the first people in the colony to be accused of the then-illegal act of abortion. Fortunately, he was found not guilty.
In the early 1870s Louis took up residence at 182 Collins St and he occupied the building for the rest of his life, along with his expansive family (he was married twice and fathered more than a dozen children).
The ever-busy Louis was also a prominent politician, first elected into the Legislative Assembly for South Bourke in 1859 and later re-elected to the seats of Richmond (1871-74, 1877-83) and Mornington (1886-94). As a politician, he was involved in committees for the extermination of the Phylloxera insect (being a keen vintner), postal reform and fisheries. However, scandal also marred his political career, and, in 1863, he violently attacked the Minister of Justice (John Denniston Wood) in Parliament House’s refreshment rooms over an insult.
He produced award-winning wines and, for nearly 30 years, was on the Exhibition Building Committee. He was an avid racehorse owner, breeder and rider who proudly wore his red and green silks and tartan cap as homage to his birthplace.
Louis died of pneumonia on July 8, 1910, and, soon after, his family left the mansion which by the 1930s was knocked down for an extension to the neighbouring Oriental Hotel. In its turn, the hotel was demolished in the 1970s to make way for the current Collins Place shopping plaza.
A stone bust of Louis’ head can be found at the Exhibition Building. •

Council expands business support service
