Dr Pretorius, of Horsham's Lister House Clinic, will move to Penola in South Australia.

Penola had a population of 1317 in the 2006 Census.

Dr Pretorius, a general practitioner-obstetrician, will become Penola's only doctor.

In comparison, Horsham has about 14 doctors.

His last day working at Lister House Clinic will be on Thursday.

Dr Pretorius, originally from South Africa, moved to Horsham in 2006 and has been with the clinic ever since.

He migrated to Australia in 2003 and worked in Inverell, New South Wales.

"With my wife Thelmarie, I am following a lifelong dream to be a single doctor in a small country town," Dr Pretorius said.

"We will now have the opportunity to do this in Penola.

"In Horsham, we have appreciated the support of all our patients and wish them well for the future.

"It's a lovely town and we have had good support from Wimmera Base Hospital.

"We would like to thank the community, loyal patients, friends and colleagues for their support."

Dr Pretorius, whose main practice is obstetrics, estimated he has delivered almost 1000 babies during his time in the Wimmera.

He has four walls in his office featuring baby photos.

"That's my fondest memory of being here; all the little kiddies," Dr Pretorius said.

"I love children and I love obstetrics; it's what I've always done."

When Dr Pretorius leaves, there will still be two doctors in Horsham who work in obstetrics.

Wimmera Health Care Group and Lister House Clinic have both advertised to recruit a replacement doctor.