Allan and Neville Hellmuth are not just genetically identical; they also have identical careers and interests.
The twins are both radiographers and sonographers at Mackay Base Hospital and both share a profound and deep connection to the ocean.
Both earned TE scores of 990 (equivalent to OP 1) and despite being offered university placements to study medicine and law, they both opted to take a gap year and join the family fishing business.
“But here’s the red herring; that gap year actually lasted 17 years,” Allan said.
“The headmaster at Gympie State High School was just horrified that two students who scored TE scores of 990 would opt to stay fishing instead of study,” Neville said.
As rare MCMA or monochorionic-monoamniotic twins, a condition in which twin babies live in one sac and share one placenta, their birth was incredibly rare. Neville arrived first.
“Although mum said a couple of years ago ‘I don’t know how to tell you this Nev, but I don’t know if you were actually born first’,” he said.
“They had us mixed up even back then.”
Ironically, it was an x-ray which confirmed their mother was carrying twins in her third pregnancy.
“There were no scans back in that day, so she had an x-ray at 40 weeks to make sure there was two babies in there – imagine if you did that today?”
The twins were raised in Tin Can Bay in south-east Queensland where their parents owned a large fishing company.
“We both wanted to take a gap year to earn some cash before we went to university. But it wasn’t until 17 years later that we actually went back to study at university,” Allan said.
The pair fished together and eventually owned their own trawlers, working nine months of the year fishing between Cairns and the Torres Strait.
Both answer in unison when asked what they loved about life at sea: “the freedom” and being the “third generation” to do it.
Family commitments ultimately changed both their career trajectories.
“My son wanted me to stay home; he would beg me ‘don’t go fishing dad’,” Allan said.
“My wife had had enough after 14 years and was sick of it, so I said I’ll come home then too,” Neville agreed.
Both decided they “had to do something” and that studying radiography full-time offered long-term opportunity and a stable career.
“The course itself was only three years which was shorter than other courses like engineering, and we knew there was definitely work at the end of the line,” Allan said.
Allan began his studies in 2003 aged 33 and Neville in 2004 aged 34, both at the Queensland University of Technology on the Sunshine Coast. They both completed post graduate studies through University of South Australia.
Allan, who is a team leader in the medical imaging department, has worked at Mackay Base Hospital for eight years after spending five years travelling Australia working as a locum.
Neville has been based in Mackay for just 12 months having spent the previous 11 years as a locum on the west coast of the country and in places like Norfolk Island, Geraldton, and Weipa. His first locum position was actually in Mackay.
“I really make his job easy now, because he’s my boss,” Neville said.
Although they now work together and have lunch together every day, the brothers try to surf or stand up paddle board together at North Wall as often as possible.
The pair still haven’t ruled out yet another occupation sea change.
“Never say never. They say you apparently have three major career changes in your life and we’ve already done two,” Neville said.
For now, they continue to enjoy their fulfilling work and the frequent double takes of clients and ongoing banter with colleagues in their department.
“My brother’s wife works in ICU so when I go up there, they always say ‘Hi Al,” Neville said.
“Sometimes I don’t even worry about correcting them.”
