How castrating bull calves gave Dr Mikala Dales a head start in medicine
Dr Mikala Dales grew up on a cattle property castrating bull calves — skills she says that later proved unexpectedly useful in the operating theatre.
“I was helping in my first surgery during my internship, and my supervisors were like, ‘Oh, you are very confident with that,’” Dr Dales tells AusDoc, referring to the scalpel.
“I remember turning around and saying, ‘It is not the first time, unfortunately. I have done this a few times.’
“If I need to, I can do front to back: tagging, dehorning, branding and castrating. I love that kind of stuff. But I am not talking about my patients obviously.”
Dr Dales is now a GP in Blackall — an outback town in central Queensland, almost 1000km from Brisbane — and her cattle-wrangling days are not behind her.
She has bought 3500 acres about 30km out of town, where she and her partner Hugh Paton, run about 300 steers.
Raised on a cattle property at The Gums in south-west Queensland, Dr Dales has been buying and selling cattle since childhood.
One of five sisters, she was given her first poddy calf by her father when she was eight or 10. Some of the calves were named Hamburger and Meatloaf; she had no illusions about their destiny.
“My dad is a clever man. He never gave us pocket money. Instead, he gave us each a poddy calf,” she says.
“That calf would take about 12 months to grow. You would sell it and get the money back. The idea is that one calf turns into two, two into four, four into eight and so on.”
The sisters tracked ownership through different coloured ear tags.
On land where the distances are vast, their property was 40km from the nearest general store and 120km from a sizeable supermarket. The girls attended a one-teacher primary school with a dozen students.
Medicine was not initially on Dr Dales’ radar. But in year 10, while she was flicking through a careers guide at lunch, a science teacher asked if she had considered becoming a doctor.
“I was like, ‘Nope, definitely not smart enough for that. I don’t think that is achievable.’”
Her teacher disagreed, and the idea stayed with her.
After boarding school for years 11 and 12, she earned the marks required and was offered a place at James Cook University in Townsville.
While completing rural generalist training in Toowoomba, Dr Dales met Hugh then working as a diesel mechanic.
Just a few months into their relationship, she received a call in January 2023 offering her a position in Blackall, population 1500.
“I hung up the phone, looked at my partner and said, ‘I have just been offered my dream job in Blackall.
“‘If you don’t want to move there, we need to have a serious conversation about us. I am going to Blackall.’
“To my immense surprise, he said, ‘That’s all right. I’ll just move to Blackall.’”
Hugh now works with her father on the family property three hours away.
The couple live in Blackall, with its pub, two cafes and a restaurant. When the chance came to buy land nearby, Dr Dales leapt at it.
“Growing up, the dream was always to buy a block of land so I could trade cattle on my own property. But the timing had to be right because doctors move around a lot.
“This opportunity came up to buy 3500 acres. My parents helped me, along with the money I had made from cattle trading.”
She buys steers locally at about 350kg and aims to grow them to about 450kg over a year. She and Hugh muster, weigh and tag the cattle themselves.
“It gives me something to do on the weekend,” she says.
“Going out to check, muster and weigh the cattle, and dealing with the business side of agriculture are grounding for me.”
City life has never had much pull. She prefers wide open spaces, cattle work and providing healthcare to remote communities.
She was still completing her GP registrar training in Blackall when the director of medical services role at Blackall Hospital became vacant.
She took it on and now splits her time between overseeing hospital operations and working at Blackall General Practice, where she is the only permanent GP.
Now, in her third year in town, Dr Dales says patients value seeing the same doctor and her rural background helps her understand the lives they lead.
“Living here allows me to combine my love of agriculture and cattle work with my job, but the community is the reason I stay.
“Everyone is so appreciative, and it makes you feel like you are making a difference.
“It is not just me caring for them though. They genuinely care for me too. I have patients who waggle their finger at me and say, ‘I hope you’re not working too hard.’”
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