On Wednesday 28th Jan 2026, New Wendouree Breakfast Rotary Club member, David Douglas, began his talk with two aphorisms: ‘It is better to be a has-been than a never was’ and ‘The older I get, the better I was’. David, the fifth of six children, was born in Brisbane and raised in an environment respecting values familiar to Rotarians: truth, fairness, goodwill and striving to provide benefit to others.

David and his second wife, Ki, both doctors, have a consulting practice, Douglas Consulting. While David is semi-retired, Ki continues to work in Brisbane at least for this year. With his first wife, Valerie, he has two daughters and a son. The move to Victoria was to join David’s second daughter and grandson in Ballarat, a move that has proved very successful.

After graduating from University of Queensland as a doctor, David spent 2 years at a teaching hospital before joining a General Practice in rapidly growing Gladstone. It was a time when modern diagnostic tools (MRI, ultrasound or mobile phones) were not yet available and doctors had to ‘look at, listen to, and examine their patients’. An appointment as a part-time doctor at the new alumina refinery, which involved a highly dangerous process, convinced David of the importance of preventing workplace injuries and disease. He decided to switch to occupational medicine as a career.