New doctor attracted by lifestyle

Dr Nicholas Cooper will be based at Grafton GP Superclinic.

JoJo Newby

GETTING straight into everything the Clarence Valley has to offer is what Dr Nick Cooper is all about.

He recently moved from Darwin to Grafton to take up a position at the Grafton GP Superclinic, and is looking forward to immersing himself in everything the town has to offer.

"I want to get into rowing again. I used to competitively row when I was at University in England. I haven't done it for 22 years, but I would love to get back into it and the conditions here look perfect, when the river isn't in flood, of course," he said.

Initially when looking at moving to Grafton, Dr Cooper and his wife were after a seachange.

"Our kids are both in Sydney, so we wanted to be in driving range but it got to the point in Darwin where we were pretty over the weather.

"It has been pretty wet here since we arrived two weeks ago, but rain is completely different when there is steam rising off the pavement because of it.

"In Darwin, rain was good but when the rain stopped and the sun came out, it was pretty uncomfortable," Dr Cooper said.

In Darwin, Dr Cooper was working for the Australian Defence Dorce, and while the patients are a little different in Grafton, he is very much looking forward to the challenge.

"Every year it seemed to get a little bit harder with the workload and what we were expected to do, so I basically thought there must be more to this. My wife found the job here and we thought, why not.

"Working with the army, you are generally looking after younger, fitter people, so I have been brushing off a few cobwebs, but I have really been enjoying the work."

Settling in for the long haul is also not out of the question, with Dr Cooper and his wife recently putting in an offer on a house.

"If everything works out, I intend to be here for 10 or 15 years at least."