KERANG-BASED dentist, Greg Gin and his wife, Cheryl are preparing for a new chapter of their lives.
Dr and Mrs Gin – who has works alongside her husband for 38 years – both retired from their positions at the Kerang Dental Surgery earlier this week.
The couple have developed strong links with the district since moving to Kerang in October 1979 to create their own dental practice.
Dr Gin graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1976 and worked at practices at Laverton, Williamston and Yarraville with fellow dentist, John Cividen, before opting to create his own practice.
“We did want to buy a practice at Williamston, but it was a lot of money and our accountant advised us not to,” Dr Gin said.
“We had only been married for six weeks when we moved to Kerang, and we thought that we would only be here for two to five years.”
The couple were originally based on the second floor of a Victoria Street property – now home of a local bank – and were impressed with the town’s hospitality.
“When we arrived, the people were so friendly and welcoming,” Mrs Gin said.
“Word had gone around town that I played table tennis and tennis, so even when we were setting up the practice I have knocks on the door from both the town’s table tennis club and tennis club presidents wanting me to join,” Dr Gin said.
The couple were based in the main business area of the town for close to 13 years, before relocating to their current location on Wellington Street.
“Unfortunately it was difficult for patients, especially those in wheelchairs or families with prams and strollers, to get upstairs to our surgery, so we looked at moving to a ground level site,” Dr Gin said.
This led to the purchase of the town’s former State Electricity Commission office in late 1991, which the couple renovated and relocated to in May 1992.
The couple have worked alongside a number of visiting dentists to assist with the workload during their time in the area – including Dr Gin’s younger brother, Stewart, as well as Paul Lee, Allen Aylett and current owner, Shabnam Amiri.
Dr Aylett, who worked alongside the Gins for five years in a period that began in late 2007, was the most prolific of these colleagues, with the former Victorian Football League and North Melbourne Football Club chair attracting a number of high-profile people to the surgery.
“Allen would be working and next thing he would have a phone call from (then AFL chief executive officer) Andrew Demetriou, or former Hawthorn coach, David Parkin, as well as Sam Kekovich, would call in to see him,” Dr Gin said.
“We both got to meet a number of different people during our role thanks to Allen’s celebrity status.”
The couple sold the surgery to Dr Amiri in September 2015, choosing to stay on assist for an extra two years.
“We would like to think that during our time we have made a difference to the oral health of those living in Kerang and Cohuna, where we also operated for 16 years,” Dr Gin said.
Although the couple will remain living in Kerang, the pair are considering spending time in the next two to three years volunteering their services with dental practices located in outback Australia.
“There are two organisations – the Kimberly Dental Service and Fill the Gap, which is located around the Gulf of Carpenteria – that have dental surgeries or caravans set up, but rely on retired or young dentists to provide their services,” Dr Gin said.
“I know there are similar operations occurring in India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia, but I like to think that charity begins at home.
“Even if you help one person, you have done service to the community.”
