Top honour to volunteer vet
PORT Chalmers community vet Terry Marler has gained the top inaugural West Harbour community service award as a community champion.
Englishborn Mr Marler (72) has long lived in Port Chalmers, and has been a vet for the past 46 years, including 15 years in teaching roles at Otago Polytechnic.
He retired from the polytechnic four years ago after a stroke which partly affected his vision and prevented him from driving.
But he has since gained a great deal of enjoyment from working on Thursday evenings, and sometimes at other times, as a volunteer at the St Francis Veterinary Clinic at Port Chalmers.
It was ‘‘great’’ and ‘‘wonderful to be recognised’’ with the award, but he also had some ‘‘mixed feelings’’ about it, given that many other people had also volunteered to undertake community work, Mr Marler said.
At the West Harbour Community Board award function at the Port Chalmers Library this week, he joked that he still knew one end of a pet from the other, still knew where the injections went, and intended to keep working as a vet as long as he could.
He felt privileged to help care for pets that were ‘‘a really important feature of the owner’s life’’.
Community nominators for the award said he had continued his clinic work ‘‘even when very unwell himself’’.
‘‘He is well past retirement age but loves helping people and animals so much he shows no sign of stopping!’’
People pay for the cost of having their pets treated at the notforprofit community clinic.
Among four other community service award winners was Carol Dewar, who was an ‘‘unsung hero’’ in the community, and extensively involved in volunteering, including as part of a local school boating programme, award nominators said.
Lana Oranje had played an important role in community beautification efforts, including at Long Beach, had raised funds to support the Mussel Bay children’s playground and helped found the SH88 Beautification Trust.
Former deputy principal at Port Chalmers School Garry Bain was instrumental in developing the school boating programme, and had taught water skills for several years to schoolchildren and others in the community.
Kristina Goldsmith had put in thousands of volunteer hours supporting Playcentre in West Harbour, particularly the Sawyers Bay Playcentre, and also helping the St Leonards group, nominators said.