By Charlene Macaulay
Dr Rafael Milone first came to Wyndham as a GP 41 years ago and liked it so much, he moved here. The 69-year-old sat down with Charlene Macaulay to talk about Werribee, his career, and his 70th birthday.
What is your connection to Wyndham?
I was born in Italy, near Naples. I came to Australia when I was six and I grew up in Queensland as a young boy. Then we moved to Victoria – mainly for my schooling, for university. I went to Melbourne University and we lived in Port Melbourne. Before coming to Werribee, I lived in Kooyong.
Why did you want to be a GP?
My family [wanted me to]. In my day, you did six years university, and then became a GP. I did hospital training at Box Hill Hospital and Royal Melbourne, and a small stint in London. It was different; I think when you’re young you want to see the world. I bought myself a Kombi Van and drove around Europe. On weekends I used to go across the channel … I’d go to see the Louvre, I’d go to Copenhagen or something like that.
You’ve been running the Princes Highway Medical Centre for 41 years. How did you come to be in Werribee?
I started a clinic in St Albans and I used to work weekends. This guy rocks up on a Sunday morning … he had a brand-new Mercedes and he was a surgeon. He heard I spoke Italian and said ‘you should come to Werribee, there are a lot of Italians there’. So that’s when I came down here. He ended up being my son’s godfather after that – we became great friends. There are only two of us [at the clinic] now. There used to be more, but I don’t want to expand. I’m going to be 70 this year, I’m trying to cut down!
What made you move to the area?
I got busy very quickly. I like Werribee because it’s a country town – when I came here, it was a just a country little hospital on Synnot Street with five GPs, and we ran it. I moved to Werribee in 1977.
Any plans for your 70th birthday?
Do you know Rafael’s restaurant [in Werribee]? The owner says we have to do something, but I don’t want to. It’s not a good feeling, getting older. It didn’t hit home to me until recently. I went to Russia for the World Cup and on the way back I stopped in Dubai. There’s a building you go up to – it’s like Eureka – and there’s glass and you look down. I went to pay up …and he said ‘we don’t charge old people’. This guy picked me out as an old man!
What are your hobbies outside of work?
I used to do go-kart racing, but I haven’t done it for years.
I like building stuff, because my father was a builder and I used to go to work with him. I like doing up houses.
