Dr Robert Parsons has been a GP at the Barber Street Practice for almost all of his career, which he said has gone "so fast". He is also the local obstetrician, looking after the shire's pregnant ladies throughout the term and delivering many of their babies.

He started his journey at the University of Newcastle, and as an intern was to Tamworth to join the family medicine program. He had a short placement in Gunnedah before he travelled to the United Kingdom for two years of obstetrics and anaesthetics study.

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When he returned home, the two doctors he completed his placement with in Gunnedah offered him a position.

"And then I woke up the other day and it was 30 years later," the GP said.

Dr Parsons has lost count of the number of babies he's delivered, saying it could be in the thousands.

Some of the highlights of job were: "Delivering a baby at 2am when you've been awake for 36 hours; sitting with other doctors having a quiet beer after an absolute disaster that's gone very well; being greeted by my staff every morning that seem happy to work here; and being surrounded by extremely component people you know have your back and [who are] good at what they do," Dr Parsons said.

He said some worst moments included "walking in to find a friend's child [has] been involved in a car accident, [and] house calls on Christmas Day when someone is about to pass away".

But he remains positive despite the bad times.

"I don't think you can have best moments if you don't have worst moments; life is a balance," he said.

Dr Parsons said he'd stayed in Gunnedah for all these years because of "the people, the staff at the hospital and the staff at work", and he had no plans to leave any time soon.

"I live in the house of a doctor who I think still worked into his 80s. My intention is not to do that - but my intention is not to leave Gunnedah, either," he said.

"There's a whole lot of people who still want me to deliver their babies, and I've delivered the children of children, but I don't know if I can go children of children of children.

"Here's to the next 30 years."