Canadian trip memorable for vet
Being a veterinarian for a plane load of deer bound for Toronto is one of the more interesting jobs done by Riversdale’s community development area chairman Paul Langford.
A full-time veterinarian for 41 years, he made the trip from Auckland to Canada in 1990.
The 1000 deer exported were owned by Tim Wallace of Wanaka.
Langford stayed at a Toronto quarantine station for a month while Canadian tests were done on the deer.
‘‘The deer were in crates stacked two high in the plane,’’ Langford said.
‘‘They were tested for TB [tuberculosis] when they arrived in Toronto and then went to farms in Canada and the United States.’’
Langford spent his childhood in South Hillend. He attended St Kevin’s College in Oamaru for five years and after another five years at Massey University in Palmerston North, he got a veterinarian’s job in Riversdale in 1972.
Langford moved into semiretirement when turning 65 in 2013.
Sheep dog injuries were common during his time at Northern Southland Veterinary Services. ‘‘There’d be fractures and joint injuries.’’
Before joining the Riversdale community development area subcommittee in 2008, Langford was on the Riversdale Primary School’s board of trustees for nine years, including three years as chairman; the Riversdale Tennis Club chairman for five years and a rugby referee for the same time.
In earlier years, Langford played for the Riversdale senior rugby team for five years.
He became chairman of the Riversdale community development area sub-committee in 2014 after being encouraged by Alex McLennan, who was on the Riversdale Community Board for 30 years, the past 25 as chairman.
Langford became involved with the subcommittee in a move to give something back to the community.
‘‘We used the town’s facilities to bring up four daughters and now it’s my turn to look after the facilities.’’
His daughters, Sarah Wiegersma and Beth Gray, of Gore, Rachel Irwin, of Te Anau, and Anna Langford, of Auckland, all played representative hockey from Riversdale. Wife Marie managed hockey teams.
The community development area and voluntary groups, sporting clubs and emergency services in Riversdale worked closely together, Langford said.
‘‘You don’t have to be on the CDA to do good work in Riversdale. Clubs, groups and emergency services, they’re all contributing to the welfare of Riversdale.’’
New signs welcoming people to Riversdale were gifted to the town by Alexandra businessman Peter Green, formerly of Riversdale.
The framework and concrete pad for the signs were donated by the Riversdale Lions Club. The laying of 500 metres of concrete footpaths in the town was another improvement in recent years.
Meanwhile, Langford is not completely finished with veterinary work, as he is the veterinarian at 15 race meetings in Southland.
He and his brother, Colin, of South Hillend, won eight races with grey galloper Becher in the 1980s.