Marvellous Mervyn
Meet Mervyn Murphy, the 93-year-old who has just celebrated 25 years as a volunteer with Gold Coast Health, including five years at Robina Hospital.
Mervyn is one of the first faces you will see as you walk through the doors of the hospital on any Tuesday and is on hand to help both patients and their families get to where they need to go.
Along with his work at the hospital, Mervyn has made an impact on literally thousands of Queenslanders as a life member of the Kidney Support Network.
InsideR sat down with the man himself to chat about his incredible life – from being posted on Manus Island during World War II to his years of volunteering in Robina.
We have heard you’ve lived a pretty interesting life – could you please tell us a bit about your journey?
As an 18-year-old, I joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. I was posted to Manus Island and learnt Morse Code. In total, I was part of the air force for almost three years.
Once the war was over, I lived in Newcastle with my wonderful wife, who I ended up spending 51 years of my life with. We had two children.
We relocated to Katoomba in New South Wales, where I ended up working at Katoomba Hospital as a wardsman – this was where my love for the hospital system was born.
I managed the laundry service at Katoomba Hospital for more than 20 years, while my wife was a clerk at the same hospital.
When we both retired, we made the move to Queensland and eventually the Gold Coast to be closer to our children and grandchildren. I knew I wanted to stay in the hospital system one way or another and ended up doing so for 47 years.
Since my wife passed away in 1998, I have really pursued my volunteering work and joined the team at Robina Hospital five years ago. I am loving every minute of it.
You have just celebrated 25 years with Gold Coast Health – could you please tell me about your volunteering journey?
My volunteering journey started when my wife began to experience quite serious kidney troubles. We were living on the Gold Coast and I was driving her to Princess Alexandra Hospital each day to receive dialysis and the long distance drive was causing quite a lot of stress to her health.
I found out if I could do her dialysis, there would be a bed for her on the Gold Coast. I learnt how to work three different dialysis machines and, after eight months, she received a vacancy. In September 1992, while working the dialysis units for my wife, I embarked on my volunteer journey and, even though my wife has since passed away, I have continued to volunteer until this day.
This year, Gold Coast Health threw me a big party in the hospital dining room to celebrate 25 years of service – I was blown away with the generosity of all the lovely people who attended. I now volunteer every week for five to six hours, doing meet and greets at Robina Hospital.
Tell us about your work with the Kidney Support Network on the Gold Coast
I am a life member of the Kidney Support Network (KSN) on the Gold Coast and have loved every moment. Over the years I have fundraised for the association through sausage sizzles at shopping centres on weekends, which was great fun and for a cause very close to my heart.
When my wife became quite ill, I wanted to help people in similar situations, so I did a bit of research and found the KSN. During my time with the KSN, my foster daughter Lorraine, who is the Nurse Practitioner Navigator for Renal Services at Robina Hospital, decided to record my volunteering progress over the course of 10 months. In that time, I visited 1,992 patients across five different hospitals.
What has been your favourite part about being a volunteer?
I really do love life and I am definitely a people person. I want to help the patients and hospital staff as much as I can and that is why I love coming to volunteer every week.
My wife and I were together for more than 51 years and she was in my life for 60 – I miss her a lot and I find that being a volunteer really adds a bit of joy to my life.
What do you love about Robina Hospital?
I really love the people that I work with and those who come into the hospital. Robina is so central and my family are all around the area – my granddaughter Madison is actually completing a Bachelor of International Studies at Bond University. I love being around my family and other people.
Celebrating the people who make Robina a great community
At insideR we love shining a light on local community members who are making a real difference and who deserve accolades. If you know someone who should be acknowledged for their efforts, please get in touch with us at insider@robina.com.au or give us a call on 55 930 888, we would love to hear from you!
