AMA VICDOC Summer 2024 - Magazine - Page 29
IN AUSTRALIA, PLACES THEY LIVED AND
WORKED INCLUDED ARNHEM LAND, AND
EDENHOPE, WHERE DAD SPENT PART OF
HIS CHILDHOOD.
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They spent a year living in Nhulunbuy
providing care to the northern Aboriginal
communities of Arnhem Land in the
Northern Territory. Then they settled
in Edenhope, in West Wimmera.
The country doctor there, Dr Ron Bade,
had been a mentor to dad when he was
studying and wanted Dad to take over his
GP practice so he could retire. My parents
worked in Edenhope for 10 years before
settling in the high country in Mansfield,
Victoria. He was a very dedicated doctor;
he’d throw himself in and give his all.
He valued being able to have a positive
impact and make a difference in people's
lives. He just wanted to do everything
he could for people.
HE WAS VERY ADVENTUROUS. IN ALL OF THOSE
PLACES WHERE HE LIVED, HE’D IMMERSE
HIMSELF IN THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT,
LANGUAGE AND PAST TIMES.
-
He has always had a spirit of adventure
and perhaps saw medicine as a career that
would enable him to explore the world and
other cultures, and experience different
languages and ways of living. In the UK he
joined a sailing club and learned to sail a
mirror. In Tari, Dad enjoyed bush walking,
camping and caving. In Kavieng, he learned
to scuba dive around the spectacular coral
reefs and the plane wrecks from the war.
In Edenhope he got into rock climbing.
In Mansfield he immersed himself into
bike riding. He approached everything
with generosity, braveness and an
adventurous and caring spirit.
HE AND MUM WANTED TO GIVE BACK,
SO WE’RE SETTING UP A SCHOLARSHIP
THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE.
-
It will support medical students from PNG
to come to Australia for a rotation, to
develop their education and training and
then be able go back to PNG to use those
skills in their own careers. It's been a long
process, but there are two medical students
who will be coming to Melbourne in 2025.
VI CD O C SU M M ER 2024
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