David Wark was a medical doctor born on Scotland, perhaps Ayrshire, and was a member of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, licensed to teach anatomy and perform autopsies.
[2] The widower Wark then emigrated to South Australia from Glasgow for a more congenial climate, arriving with his son aboard Welcome on 3 April 1839, having served as ship's surgeon.
He had settled in the Encounter Bay area and admired the local Aborigines, but was, as a medical practitioner, concerned with the fate of the females, who were succumbing to venereal diseases through interaction with European men.
In 1852 he was called on to give medical evidence at a Coroner's Inquest into the death of a child, whom her step-father, a Mr. Horgan, was accused of murdering.
In 1853 John Hart, M.L.C, about to embark on a visit to England, entrusted Wark with his resignation from the Chamber, to be tendered if needed in the interests of his electorate.
[10] Catherine was the daughter of James and Sarah Keeling of Hanley, Staffordshire, and emigrated with her widowed mother in June 1839 aboard Sir Charles Forbes.