Our people their stories: Geoff Shannon

QVMAG Friends guest speaker Geoff Shannon

The monthly Our people, their stories: oral histories of Northern Tasmania talks presented by the QVMAG Friends reveal the personal stories of a diverse range of people who enrich the lives of our community.

DO YOU FOLLOW A CAREER or FOLLOW YOUR PASSION with Geoff Shannon

Geoff Shannon was born in Wales and moved to Kent (SE England) at 14 days of age. His childhood spent in semi-rural Kent allowed him to grow up with close contact with nature and a father, a dentist, with a passion for birds and a successful wild bird cine-photographer who taught him about birds and ecology.

Geoff went to university in Cambridge followed by medical school in London. Two years after qualifying he migrated to Perth WA with a wife and 14-day old son. There he trained as a paediatrician and spent ten years working in Perth and four in Bunbury. After that he switched to general practice training in Latrobe, Tasmania and became a senior in the general practice there.

His semi-retirement came to an early end when he and his wife moved to Longford three years ago, the move allowing them to spend more time together in her last years.

Throughout his professional life Geoff has been involved with birding (not twitching) which brought a balance to a busy life, and now allows him to add to the knowledge of our local avifauna.