From farm to the pharmacy
AFTER growing up in Tully the main thing Debbie Marron appreciates about Townsville is, of course, the sunshine.
The managing partner and pharmacist at Thuringowa Village Discount Drug Store moved to Townsville after high school to study.
“I went to Tully High and grew up on a farm northeast of Tully,” Debbie said.
“We spent a few years down in Victoria doing high school down there but we moved back to Tully as we missed the warmer weather.
“We had bananas and a piggery.
“It was lovely growing up on the farm. I couldn’t have asked for a better childhood.”
Due to her love of the farm Debbie embarked on her first degree in animal science at James Cook University.
After her studies she started working full- time in a pharmacy managing a Kodak mini lab.
“It was random but I loved it,” she said.
“I ended up going back to uni to do pharmacy and my boss was really wonderful at the time.
“I worked part- time in the pharmacy most of the way through my degree, which was good because in that industry you can lose touch quite quickly.”
After graduating, Debbie did her one- year pre- registration at the same pharmacy, then decided to move to Bundaberg.
“But it was too far away from my family,” she said.
“I stayed for less than year.”
Back in Townsville, Debbie did some locum work before eventually settling on a fulltime position at the Thuringowa store, which eventually, along with two partners from Brisbane, she ended up buying. a
“It was all about being in the right place at the right time,” Debbie said.
“I’ve run the business for nearly three years now and I’ve loved it.”
Debbie has a partner and is expecting her first child later this year.
And as for Townsville, she has no plans to leave anytime soon.
“Every city has its ups and downs but at the end of the day Townsville is much more like a country town,” she said.
“We spent two nights in the heart of Melbourne and it was so stressful, we were happy to come home.”
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