In the 1990s' many dairy farming families in search of productive and affordable land moved their entire farming operations from New Zealand's North Island to the more challenging geography of Southland.
A young Sarah Martin arrived with her family to a dairy conversion block near Wyndham.
Sarah is now an Honours candidate at the School of Physiotherapy at Otago.
During her third year of study, she applied for the Honours programme knowing that this would give her a real advantage if she wanted to advance to doctoral level. As she notes “it leaves many doors open for my future”
Asked about the more satisfying aspects of her studies, Sarah mentions a placement in the cardiothoracic ward at Dunedin Hospital. One patient had taken a fall which resulted in broken ribs, and he thanked Sarah for helping him learn the least painful way to get himself out of bed.
Sarah tells us that Honours study can feel a little isolated and this makes it even more important to keep in close touch with friends and family. Such well-nurtured connections will sustain her long after university studies are over.
Clinical work in a rural setting beckons for Sarah. She thinks it unfair to compare the demands of physiotherapy work in a rural setting with those of a city-based physiotherapist.
Members of rural communities may present with different issues, some of which result from the physical nature of life in farming, fishing and forestry. Office workers may suffer from health conditions which result from more sedentary lifestyles. Each is impactful in different ways.
The School of Physiotherapy at Otago is only about 2 hours' drive from Sarah's family farm and whenever time allows, she gets the gumboots on and helps out.
The next few years will be busy as she works on her competitive boxing technique in preparation for the New Zealand Boxing Nationals and then for a possible place in the Commonwealth Games squad in 2022.
Sarah wins the South Island Under 69kg youth champion title in Christchurch, March 2015.
Publications
Lawrence, R. (2005). Branding terroir in the ′New World′: Modes of representation in the wine industry. In P. Sorrell, C. Ozcan, E. Kocabiyik & Z. T. Ultav (Eds.), Proceedings of the IST Product and Service Design Symposium and Exhibition on Agricultural Industries. Izmir, Turkey: Izmir University of Economics. [Full Paper]