Ask Launceston-based flight paramedic Brent Pendrey about his father Daryl’s almost five-decade career with Ambulance Tasmania and he says, “there’s nothing he hasn’t done.” Clinical and driving instructor, education co-ordinator, duty manager, flight paramedic ……the list goes on.
Daryl retired recently from the job he first took on as a volunteer in 1977.
While he recalls the big events like going underground during the Beaconsfield Mine rescue it’s the everyday jobs that he is most proud of. Supporting people, families, and communities when they need it most.
And the sunrises and sunsets which he said are memorable from the aeromedical aircraft in places like Flinders and Cape Barren Islands, Strahan, and St Helens.
Daryl says he couldn’t be prouder of Brent following in his footsteps and continuing the family legacy of caring for Tasmanians.
They share stories of turbulence, emergency retrievals, and lifesaving journeys for the State’s newest and tiniest premature babies.
There are flights into Smithton with the plane “weaving in the wind”, the magic of Bass Strait and the hills around Queenstown which require some expert navigation “flying into the hills and the sharp turn onto the strip.”
Daryl is in awe of the pilots who steered the plane to “every part of Tasmania and Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Mt Gambier and further afield”.
Brent says its good to be able to debrief with his dad after a day in the air. Daryl understands the flight paramedic vocab mixing clinical and aeronautical.
“I was influenced by dad. I grew up around ambulances in the days when he was on call and the ambulance was parked at home. It was a natural transition to join the paramedic ranks.”After 49 years Daryl says sharing his last shift with his son was a highlight.
After 49 years Daryl says sharing his last shift with his son was a highlight.
“There’s been a lot of ups and downs, good times, and bad times but at the end of the day I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Daryl PendryThe Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Tasmania has a 10-year partnership with the Tasmanian Government, for the delivery of aeromedical retrieval services across the state. Under the agreement signed last year, RFDS Tasmania and South Eastern Sections provide fixed-wing aeromedical retrieval services, working closely with Ambulance Tasmania’s Critical Care and Retrieval team to transport patients, in Tasmania and interstate.
