Summary
Thanks to her aunt’s career advice and her natural inclination, Ms Whitby has clocked up a lifetime of working as a nurse, including 30 years at Muttaburra.
When a young Virginia Whitby was first deciding on her future career, it was a toss-up between interior design and nursing.
“But I had an aunt who was a careers advisor with Queensland Education, and she helped decide on nursing as suitable career,’’ the long-time Muttaburra Primary Health Centre Director of Nursing said.
“Well, that and also because the idea of nursing was initially born from my naturally bossy and caring nature – both excellent attributes for a career in nursing.’’
Thanks to her aunt’s career advice and her natural inclination, Ms Whitby has clocked up a lifetime of working as a nurse, including 30 years at Muttaburra.
“I started working in Muttaburra on 13 July 1996,’’ she said.
“I had previously been working at Longreach Hospital as a Clinical Nurse when I was asked to relieve at Jundah, Windorah and Muttaburra as I had some previous experience working as a Remote Area Nurse at Mount Perry Clinic in Central Queensland.
“That relieving work turned into a 30-year career in the community.
“But I had already fallen in love with Muttaburra right from my first visit while still working at Longreach, when I went there briefly with the Longreach Jumbucks rugby union, for which my then husband played.
“There were a lot of Kiwis in Muttaburra then, so the rugby was very competitive.’’
Ms Whitby said she had always known she eventually wanted to be a Remote Area Nurse, right from her first year of nursing training at Bundaberg Base Hospital.
In those days, all nursing training was entirely hospital-based.
“I applied to do my training at Rockhampton, Maryborough, Gympie and Bundaberg and was accepted by all but chose Bundaberg.
“Part of our training while at Bundaberg was to visit Mount Perry – to see how remote nurses worked,’’ she said.
“The then Director of Nursing at Mount Perry, Chris Cupitt, was a very passionate nurse and enthused me with the differences that could be made working closely with a small community,’’ Ms Whitby remembers.
“Being a born and bred country girl from a cattle property at Monto, where I learned a lot about wounds and broken bones, I think the idea of remote area nursing appealed to me on a number of levels.’’
While at Bundaberg Base Hospital, Ms Whitby also did her midwifery training and later completed a post-graduate diploma in child, adolescent and family health, which she completed after taking up her position at Muttaburra.
“After arriving in Muttaburra with my then fiancé in 1996, we were welcomed wholeheartedly into the community and included in everything that was happening,’’ Ms Whitby said.
“It also helped I think that when people asked how long we were staying; – we would say ‘we’ve got a 5–10-year plan happening’.
“I think this encouraged the community to believe we had the long-term interests of the community at heart and were in for the long haul, especially once my two children arrived after we settled there.’’
Ms Whitby said the Muttaburra community was pretty special.
“And probably like most small communities it is very self-reliant,’’ she said.
“If you want something done, you raise funds and do it yourself.
“For example, when they needed an ambulance back in the 1980s, that’s how it was done – plus I believe some targeted lobbying of the government!
“Also, when we needed a defibrillator for the ambulance – I asked our committee and in less than four months, they had raised $26,000 to buy one.
“I think the support the community have shown myself and my family is remarkable and is something that I think you only find in very connected communities.
“It’s a great community, a great town, a great place to raise kids and we absolutely love living here.’’