Retired Indian doctor
Mirza Datoo has been presented with the
Order of Australia
.
Dr Datoo, whose grandparents came from Gujarat in India, has been presented with the Medal of the Order of Australia for years of service to medicine in rural
New South Wales
.
Dr Datoo went to Australia in the 1970s to begin a new life after studying medicine. He spent a quarter of a century in the western New South Wales town of Harde. Often called to attend emergencies in the middle of the night, he had to drive 70 kilometers to the scene of an accident.
For many years, Dr Datoo was on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week for emergencies. "When you start delivering the kids of the kids you delivered, then you know you're getting old."
Speaking about his award, Dr Datoo said he is really honoured his dream worked out. The honour, he explained, is a fitting reward for someone who embraced his adopted home so fervently.
He retired in 2011 and now resides in Canberra with his wife Sheryn. The couple has four children.