Trustees
John Edward Farry MNZM. LLB.
John is Pat’s brother. He is a Dunedin solicitor and company director and founder of Webb Farry Lawyers.
For services to business, the community and the Catholic Church he has been honoured with the NZ Order of Merit and a Papal Gold Medal.
Professor David Gerrard CNZM. OBE. MB. ChB (Otago). FACSP. FFSEM (Hon). David is Patron of the Trust and an Emeritus Professor from the University of Otago Medical School. Now retired and living at Hatfield’s Beach north of Auckland, David continues his involvement with a number of international sports medicine committees, including the World Anti-Doping Agency, World Rugby, and the International Swimming Federation. He was a 1964 Olympian, swimming gold medallist at the 1966 Commonwealth Games, an Olympic team physician, Chef de Mission, and Medical Commissioner for a period of ten Summer Olympics.
Suzanne Farry NZRP. Dip MT. Dip Bus.
Sue studied Physiotherapy at Otago University and set up the physiotherapy services for the wider Wakatipu Basin with practices at Queenstown Medical centres and Lake District Hospital. She taught musculoskeletal skills to both undergraduate and postgraduate physiotherapy and medical students at Otago University and assisted Pat with the development of rural healthcare services.
Dr Stuart Gowland QSO. MbChb. FRACS
Stu is a Urologist and also the Director of the New Zealand Mobile Surgical and Rural Health Development Project. With an advisory board of 12 Clinicians, including Dr Pat Farry, and representing a selection of New Zealand’s Nurses, General Practitioners, Surgeons and Anaesthetists, the Mobile Surgical Bus project was promoted and after its development, commenced day surgery in rural New Zealand in March 2002. Stu retired in April 2019 and remains on the board of Mobile Health.
Dr John Hillock MBChB. FRNZGGP.
John was a rural GP based in Queenstown and working with Pat for 30 years. He has been involved in rural GP education for many years and most of his clinical work for the last ten years has been in remote indigenous communities in Australia. John is still involved in the Otago University rural undergraduate immersion programme that was started by Pat and is very keen to continue to support Pat’s lifelong work in fostering the support of rural health through this Trust.
Dr Branko Sijnja MBChB. Dip Obst. PG Dip RPHP. FRNZCGP. FNZMA. Branko has been a General Practitioner in Balclutha since 1980 and operated his own practice there for thirty years. He currently continues to work part time in General Practice in Clutha Health First. Prior to that he worked for seven years in hospitals in New Zealand and Scotland. He has been a teacher of fifth-year medical students in rural general practice and rural hospital settings for seventeen years, and has been the Director of the Rural Medical Immersion Programme for the last eleven years.
“I admire and share a lot of the vision of the late Dr Pat Farry and am pleased to be able to continue to work with his dream.”
Dr Jo Scott-Jones MbCHb, MRCGP, MMsc, FRNZCGP, Dip Sports Med, Dip Geriatric Med, Dip Obs.
Jo is a GP in Opotiki and Medical Director of Pinnacle Midlands Health Network. He has been in leadership roles in rural health at the RGPN, RHAANZ, RNZCGP, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Rural Working Party of the World Organisation of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians (WONCA). He is a medical educator, mentor, and is most proud of helping establish the Rural Health Interprofessional Immersion Programme in Whakatane. He is passionate about the role education plays in the health system for recruitment and retention, and improving the quality and scope of services. His passion is improving the health and wellbeing of rural communities.
Simone Flight BA.BComm.
Before becoming a Trustee Simone assisted the Trust to establish the Pat Farry Trust Fun Run and scholarship programme. She is a company director and owner of Wee Nippers Early Childhood Centres and previously worked in marketing, communications and events with Tourism New Zealand, New Zealand 2011, NZ Lotteries and Queenstown Winter Festival, and Winter Games NZ. Simone lives in Queenstown.
Claire Dooney BPE. DipSBM.
Claire is the Trust’s Executive Officer with coming on board in May 2015. Working from home and living in Wanaka, Claire is the first point of contact for the Trust. Claire is a Mum of two, Finn (5) & Mia (3), a snowlover, and Owner/Managing Director of Leafcutter Business Support NZ. A member of the Institute of Directors NZ, Claire is a board member for Ignite Wanaka Chamber of Commerce, and Vice President for New Zealand Snowsports Instructors Alliance.
Honorary Solicitors
Webb Farry Lawyers
79 Stuart St
PO Box 5041
Dunedin 9016
tel: 03 477 1078
Honorary Accountants
Polson Higgs
139 Moray Place
PO Box 5346
Dunedin 9016
tel: 03 477 9923
fax: 03 477 9795
The Pat Farry Rural Health Education Trust would like to give special thanks to the following organisations and individuals for their assistance:
- Wil Mcdonald at
- for website design and build.
- for his wonderful photography of Central Otago.