Bindi and Robert Irwin are just two of the 5000 babies delivered by the Sunshine Coast’s Dr Jeff Tarr who is set to retire on 7 December.
The fertility specialist, gynaecologist and obstetrician has helped numerous couples to achieve their dream of starting a family.
“I’ve had lots of mothers bring their babies back to see me and I keep running into heaps of them everywhere I go – in the supermarket, at the movies and even on overseas flights,” he said.
Dr Tarr gained his qualifications in Queensland and London and has been honoured as a Fellow of the UK College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
He moved to the Sunshine Coast in 1982 and worked at Nambour General Hospital before starting at The Sunshine Coast Private Hospital (then named Buderim Private Hospital) in 1990. He was also a consultant at Ochre Health Medical Centre.
Even in retirement, the Buderim-based doctor will continue to consult a few hours per week at Queensland Fertility Group’s low cost IVF clinic and also perform neonatal circumcisions as he is one of the few specialists in the country who still performs the procedure.
He will also spend more time travelling, cooking and working with electronic gadgetry and video gear.
Dr Tarr said he will pass on as much knowledge as he can to younger colleagues.
“I was the first chairman of The Sunshine Coast Private Hospital’s medical advisory committee and I’m very proud to be associated with what is now one of the premier private hospitals in Australia.
“The hospital has come a long way from our humble beginnings and it is now up to a whole new set of younger doctors and hospital administrators to carry it all on,” he said.
The Sunshine Coast Private Hospital General Manager, Wallis Westbrook, said he wished Dr Tarr a very happy retirement on behalf of the hospital and its staff and patients.
“We are proud to be the largest private maternity facility on the Sunshine Coast delivering more than 1000 babies each year at our hospital in Buderim.
“I would like to thank Dr Tarr for the important role he has played in the lives of many Sunshine Coast families. Having a baby is an incredibly special time and he will long be remembered for helping to safely deliver their new baby into the world,” he said.