Former Gunnedah GP a nominee for NSW Senior Australian of the Year

A general practitioner who spent almost two decades in Gunnedah before establishing a practice in Port Macquarie is among the nominees for NSW’s Senior Australian of the Year.

Dr David Cooke OAM was announced as one of four nominees for the state honour.

For more than six decades, 84-year-old Dr Cooke has dedicated his life to caring for patients in remote and regional Australia.

“David’s remarkable career is founded on his dual passions: medicine and aviation,” the NSW Australian of the Year Awards information read.

“As part of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, David provided care across vast and isolated parts of the Northern Territory and north Queensland.

“Working with little access to diagnostic technology, he relied on clinical judgement and resourcefulness to diagnose

and treat patients in some of Australia’s most challenging environments.

“A self-described ‘pilot who practises medicine,’ David even trained in parachute jumping to reach patients in inaccessible locations.”

Dr Cooke left his long-established home and surgery in Gunnedah in 1988 to move to Port Macquarie.

“After settling in Port Macquarie in 1988, David became one of the region’s most respected doctors, known for his skill, humour and deep humanity,” the awards information read.

Former Gunnedah GP David Cooke OAM is a nominee for NSW Senior Australian of the Year. Photo: supplied

“Now well into his 80s, David continues to care for patients in Port Macquarie and South West Rocks, helping address the critical shortage of general practitioners in the region.”

Among Dr Cooke’s achievements is being the co-founder, with his son, and occasional pilot of Avcair aviation services.

He is the former vice-president and member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, served as a doctor with the Royal Flying Doctor Service in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory, and was a member of the advisory board for aviation safety in the late nineties and 2000s.

The 2027 New South Wales award recipients will be announced on Wednesday, 4 November, in Sydney. The

ceremony will also be available to watch via livestream at australianoftheyear.org.au

The New South Wales award recipients will then join recipients from the other states and territories as finalists for the national Australian of the Year Awards, announced in Canberra on 25 January, 2027.