For me, today is about asking our whole community to come togetherto celebrate what it is to be Australian.
Like many of you, I’m an immigrant to Australia. I’m originallyfrom Ireland, and I came here in 1976 after qualifying as a doctor. In thosedays, representatives from Australia travelled to Ireland offering flights andjobs to new graduates. Many of us took up that offer, planning to stay a fewyears for an adventure and then return home.
I started out in Brisbane and, after a year, was sent to ruralQueensland. It was a real baptism of fire - less than two years qualified andthe only doctor looking after towns and hospitals in Central Queensland. Isurvived, it made me a better doctor, and it showed me that rural medicine,especially general practice, was far more interesting than city work.
I gradually worked my way south - probably because the climatesuited me better. In Melbourne I was lucky enough to meet my beautiful wife,Wendy. While we enjoyed city life, we both wanted to leave it. That was nosurprise for Wendy, who came from farming life in the Upper Murray, andeventually not a surprise for me either, even though I’d always been a cityboy.
So why did we choose Lakes? I don’t need to sell it to you, butfor us it had incredible natural attractions and it was by the sea. I’d grownup on the coast in Ireland, so that felt right. The job was based in aCommunity Health Centre, which suited my idea of general practice - lookingafter a whole community, with many services under one roof.
Not long after we moved here, Wendy went house hunting and foundthe small farm where we still live. The day I saw it, it was pouring with rainand reminded me of Ireland - so I was sold.
As time went on, I developed special interests. Teaching andlearning became a major one, and another was my weekly visits to Lake TyersTrust after my mentor, Dr EB, retired. In later years I alternated visits withmy colleague Dr Kath Connor. I look back very fondly on those years, the peopleI met, and everything I learned about Aboriginal culture.
When we first moved from the city, I noticed there wasn’t a lot oforganised entertainment—but what I did find was people with similar interests.Community radio was one of those. With some new friends, we pushed for alicence, ran test transmissions, and eventually launched REG, which is stillgoing today. One memorable fundraiser was the REG Money Marathon, where apapier-mâché REG moved up the road as funds came in. When REG was “kidnapped”between Lakes and Bairnsdale, it made the front page of the BairnsdaleAdvertiser - and we never did find the kidnappers.
Wendy and I also started the Lakes Junior Soccer Club at StBrendan’s, believing soccer would be a great addition to local sport. Some ofyou may remember the Shanley Cup, which ran for many years and drew teams fromacross Gippsland. I was also a founding member of the Nowa Nowa Men’s Choir,which is still singing today. I later realised it’s really a form of Men’sShed—a place where men can connect, talk, and support one another.
The common thread in all of this is community. For me, communitymeans neighbours who look out for each other and turn up to help, often withoutbeing asked. Think of the CFA and all their volunteers, especially duringrecent bushfires—not just the firefighters, but the support crews as well.Think of people like Helen Gottshalk, who recently retired from Meals on Wheelsafter 50 years of voluntary service. Later today, when the Australia Day Awardwinners are announced, you’ll see that same spirit of volunteering reflected.
Wendy and I raised and educated our three childrenlocally—although the truth is Wendy mostly raised them, while I was at work,and she also ran a farm. Our community helped raise our children too, throughswimming, tennis, footy, cricket, and surf lifesaving. One of our children wasinspired by a mentor at the SLSC, Murray Colvin, to become a paramedic. Ourother two followed medical careers, and Wendy and I are delighted they are nowrural GPs.
After more than 40 years of practice at Gippsland Lakes CompleteCommunity Health, I realise how lucky we’ve been to live here - able to visitand holiday in places like Mallacoota, Shipwreck Creek, the Thurra River, CapeConran, Buchan, the Snowy River area, and Mitchell River National Park. Theseincredible places are in our backyard. I truly believe East Gippsland isAustralia’s hidden jewel.
So, in closing, I’d like to thank the shire for giving me theopportunity to say a few words today, and for allowing us all to celebrate whata wonderful place this is to live and raise our families.