Close to 50 veterinarians from Australia and New Zealand will meet to toast several remarkable milestones being celebrated by Tableland Veterinary Service (TVS) from September 30 to October 2.
One of Australia’s largest and oldest privately owned veterinary clinics, TVS services a large area of Northern Queensland from the Atherton Tablelands to Weipa in the North, to Charters Towers in the South, west to the gulf and east to the coast.
It will be almost 40 years since the establishment of the TVS partnership when the reunion takes place.
The reunion will also acknowledge Dr Bill Tranter and Dr Ian Hosie working together as business partners for an 40 years, a relationship that commenced on Christmas Eve, 1976.
This year also marks 65 years of continuous private veterinary service in Malanda and on the Tablelands.
The weekend will acknowledge the vets and staff who have contributed to the immense success of TVS which has flourished and become the home of both world class vets and facilities.
However it is the influence that the partnership of Dr Tranter and Dr Hosie has had on hundreds of veterinary students , veterinary employees and many non-veterinary staff that is the most important and unique achievement of TVS.
"So many of the vets we’ve worked with at TVS have become lifelong friends,” Dr Tranter said.
“Many are returning to Malanda to help celebrate our 40 year anniversary, relive past experiences and simply share a weekend together," he said.
"The significant achievement has been managing to recruit many wonderfully loyal and talented vets, nurses and support staff over the years and have them work co-operatively together providing a high standard of animal health care in our region.
The weekend's highlights will include - Friday night (The Laying of the Dust), Saturday (Chewing the Cud), Saturday night (Celebration of the Years) and a recovery breakfast (Recovery Nose Bag) on Sunday morning.
The speakers at Saturday's seminar 'Chewing the Cud' will consist entirely of former TVS veterinarians , and Saturday night's 'Celebration of the Years' dinner will include speakers for each decade TVS has operated.
The practice is also involved with veterinary student teaching through a collaborative arrangement with James Cook University, with hundreds of veterinary students having undertaken part of their veterinary training within the practice since 2010.
"Over 30 new graduates have begun their careers at TVS and for many others it was their early years following graduation,” Dr Tranter said.
“To witness young vets start out very tentatively - be provided with the same opportunities that others gave us – gain confidence day by day and grow professionally to achieve great things has been one of our greatest joys,” he said.
“In truth, most have given back far more than we were ever able to give them. Our hope would be that positive experiences in a well-supported workplace have provided a positive influence for many of these young vets to pursue confident, successful careers in a wide variety of fields.”