Dr Richard Marsden – Urologist

Richard Marsden

Many of my longstanding patients in Bundaberg will remember Richard Marsden, a highly respected urologist who served the Bundaberg community for many years.

For much of that time, Richard was Bundaberg’s only urologist. He was deeply committed to regional Queensland and to ensuring that people living outside the major cities could receive high-quality specialist care close to home. This remarkable man passed away on 5 November 2025.

I owe my own life-changing move from South Africa to Australia, in no small part, to Richard.

We first met in 2005 at the biennial UROSA conference, the Urological Association of South Africa meeting, held at Sun City. We struck up a conversation, and by the end of it Richard had handed me his business card. He told me that he was preparing to retire and invited me to contact him if I might be interested in taking over his urology practice in Bundaberg.

At the time, I did not fully appreciate the significance of his offer. It took several weeks for me to realise what an extraordinary opportunity he had placed before me.

A few months later, my wife, Natasha, and I travelled to Bundaberg for what South Africans often call an “LSD trip”: a “look, see and decide” visit undertaken before making the enormous decision to uproot a family and step into the unknown.

Australia represented the promise of safety, freedom and a hopeful future for our daughters. From the moment we arrived in Bundaberg, we felt an immediate connection with the town. Its ocean, sugarcane fields and humid subtropical climate reminded us of the east coast of South Africa and the former province of Natal.

Richard and his wife, Carol, welcomed us warmly. Richard generously shared his daily routine with me and introduced me to the operating theatre and ward staff. He gave us an honest and personal insight into both the practice and the community we were considering making our home.

We also discovered that Richard understood the immigrant journey firsthand. Born in the United Kingdom, he spent part of his childhood during the Second World War in Johannesburg, South Africa. After the war, he joined his parents in Melbourne before the family later returned to the United Kingdom. Richard went on to study medicine and establish his medical career in London.

Years later, he made his own courageous decision to relocate to Australia with his two daughters. In many ways, his journey mirrored the one Natasha and I were contemplating. His story, his generosity and the welcome extended by Richard and Carol helped us make one of the most difficult and ultimately most important decisions of our lives: Bundaberg was where we wanted to raise our girls.

Richard did far more than offer me a professional opportunity. He opened a door that changed the course of my career and transformed the future of my family.

I will always be grateful for his kindness, his trust and his commitment to the people of regional Queensland.

Thank you, Richard. Your legacy lives on in the community you served, the colleagues you inspired and the lives you changed, including mine.