47 years, 5,000 babies, four continents

There's nothing quite like helping bring new life into the world and then seeing those little ones all grown up.

For Dr James Moir, it's been one of the great privileges of a distinguished 47-year medical career working on four continents.

The Buderim Private Hospital obstetrician and gynaecologist, who retired in February, said he loved it when some of the 5,000 babies he had delivered would say hello to him in the street as adults.

"I enjoy being stopped on the streets of the Sunshine Coast to meet the babies born through IVF, or babies I have delivered over the years who now range in age from six months to 20-plus years old," he said.

Growing up in a small village in rural Scotland, Dr Moir followed his father's footsteps into a career in medicine.

He finished medical school in Aberdeen in 1975 and then worked around the world, in Scotland, England, Canada, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Tanzania.

Dr Moir settled into practice on Queensland's Sunshine Coast in 1993.

Early on, he felt compelled to use his medical training to help those in the developing world and he spent time working as a medical and scientific research officer in Papua New Guinea.

"Following seven incredible years there, I knew there was a need for women's health support, which is what inspired me to pursue further studies in obstetrics and gynaecology," Dr Moir said.

Dr Moir completed a community health degree at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1986 and then gained a Diploma of Obstetrics in New Zealand in 1988 before becoming a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in December 1994.

"After meeting my wife and starting my family, we decided to settle on the Sunshine Coast and it was here that I have spent the past 29 years working in both the public and private sectors delivering babies, and providing gynaecological and fertility services," Dr Moir said.

"There have been lots of highlights and interesting parts of my career and I will miss the rewards of my work including delivering babies, seeing women through difficult surgeries, and following people on their fertility journey from conception to birth, which has been a real privilege.

"Another highlight was meeting and providing medical care to isolated pockets of people in the highlands and rural areas of Papua New Guinea.

"During my time there, in the early 1980s, one small highland tribe made themselves known to civilisation for the first time."

<figcaption class="blocks-gallery-caption">Dr Moir in PNG, 1981</figcaption></figure>

Buderim Private Hospital General Manager Karen Clark said Dr Moir had a "positive and long-lasting impact on many people's lives here on the Sunshine Coast and around the world".

"I would like to congratulate Dr Moir on his incredible career and for helping so many people realise their dream of starting a family and safely welcoming their precious new babies into the world," she said.

"Dr Moir has been a wonderful part of our Buderim Private Hospital maternity and women's health teams and will be missed greatly and remembered fondly."

Dr Moir said he was looking forward to spending more time with his four children and two grandchildren, as well as pursuing his musical interests and raising babies of a different kind – plants – in his garden.

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