By Kate Foreman
For Robe pharmicist An Tran, life is about providing a service to his regional community that mirrors the services on offer to people living in the city.
And helping his ‘neighbours’ comes easy to An, who embodies the Australian way of life in every way possible.
“I came to Australia in 1989 from a country destroyed by conflict,” says An.
“My parents escaped Vietnam by boat after the war… I was too young to remember the entire journey but from what my parents have told me, we are very lucky to be here.”
An and his parents escaped Vietnam on this boat
“There wasn’t a day that went by where my parents wouldn’t remind me how fortunate we are and how it is our responsibility and duty to give back in some way, shape or form,” An says.
With this in mind, An now serves the Robe community through his pharmacy, as well as being a guest for the local Probus and Lions clubs on various occasions.
He’s just signed up for and looking forward to training with the local Country Fire Service and he is awaiting a chance to throw on the footy boots for the Robe Roosters!
A young An with his parents in the 1980’s.
Robe hasn’t always been home to An and his family.
After growing up in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, An studied for four years at the University of South Australia.
He then completed stints in Adelaide and interstate, before moving to Bordertown and Keith, and then taking the pharmacist position in Robe.
“What brought me to Robe was the beaches, but it’s the people I stay here for,” he says.
“It’s like everyone is a whole big family, you see everyone do their bit to help and you want to be part of that to.”
With the winter cold and flu season fast approaching, An is looking to take the pressure off the local doctor’s surgery.
He’s offering flu vaccines with no appointment or script needed.
“I know that it can be hard to get a doctor’s appointment here, a lot of country towns have this issue,” An says.
“Sometimes we only have one doctor… our doctor does a great job and he’s a really busy man so if I can help, I am more than happy to.”
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