Obituary of Mr. Roy Westley Mason

In 1951, at the age of 11, Roy came with his parents to Australia as a “Ten Pound Pom”. They settled in Hobart where he strove to get good marks at school. He achieved this and, in so doing, won a scholarship with the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, to study Veterinary Science at Sydney University. Roy started his veterinary working life in the public service in 1963. After working for a little over 3 years in Southern Tasmania, assisting livestock farmers, Roy was offered a job at Mt Pleasant Laboratories in Launceston (the State-wide Animal Health Laboratory AHL). When he was out in the field, he had sent so many samples to the laboratory for testing, that they asked him whether he wanted a job, eventually becoming the laboratory's most senior Veterinary Pathologist. In the mid-1970s, while doing his Master's Degree, Roy researched ovine congenital goitre in Tasmania's Cressy/Longford area, confirming iodine deficiency being the cause of goitre in sheep. It was during this time that he was invited to work with a team of doctors and other medics who, at a similar time, were researching human thyroidal disease in Tasmania. Roy's special interest was avian pathology, and he was very well regarded for his expertise in this area of veterinary science. Clients would deliberately dispatch avian samples to coincide with Roy being on duty—it was because of this that Roy's rostered days were affectionately referred to by AHL staff as “bird days”. In the early 1980s, Roy spent a week on the wild and blustery Albatross Island, an 18-hectare rocky outcrop located in Bass Strait. Together with two colleagues, he investigated the cause of increased mortality in Albatross chicks. There he collected ticks from the seabirds that roosted on the island, discovering a virus that was also present in the deceased chicks and now known as Albatross Island Virus. Through Roy's efforts and drive, there is now a Laboratory database that can store historic case information in an easy, retrievable format. His cases over his long career were quite incredible, managing over 15,000 submissions from the mid 1990s, when those digitised records started, through to his retirement in Feb 2016, and then factoring another 30-odd years of service before that! “Time spent in Specimen Reception with Roy was an educational experience.” “He greatly encouraged all staff to understand not just what we do, but why we do it.” “His willingness to explain case histories and how he determined the appropriate testing was of great benefit to all undertaking Spec Rec tasks and in turn enabled us to provide more efficient service to clients…” “Roy had an immeasurable, positive impact on Animal Health and Welfare in Tasmania across the course of his decades long career.” Roy passed away earlier this year with family by his side. He will be sadly missed but never forgotten.