However, unlike so many, he has been a father figure to more than 200 children over the past 23 years - first on the North-West Coast and now in West Launceston.

With his wife, Louise, they also have five of their own – former foster child Darlene, biological children Sarah and Ben and adopted sons Sam, 17, and Bini, 9.

Their home is generally abuzz with children, five grandchildren, and friends and visitors.

A carpenter by trade who is now retraining to be a social worker, Mr Spaulding said he does not believe he or the family are anything special.

‘‘For us it’s really rewarding,’’ Mr Spaulding said.

‘‘Before we even met, Louise and I had a dream to adopt and then we married and had two planned children.

‘‘Louise had difficult deliveries and I thought ‘I’m not going to put you through that again, let’s pursue this adoption side’.

‘‘That’s a big move, so we thought let’s try foster care first and see if we’re suitable.

‘‘That was 23 years ago and we just kept going.’’

They started with Glenhaven Family Care as out-of-home ‘house parents’ for medium to long-term children requiring care.

Mr Spaulding believes the idea to become a foster parent probably stemmed from his experiences as a child – although not a foster child, he had the benefit of spending time with extended family, aunties and uncles, on holidays.

He said contrary to what many people may think, the vast majority of foster children are good kids, who just need a bit of attention.

Daughter Darlene Hammond joined the family at the age of nine until she went to college and calls the couple Mum and Dad.

Mr Spaulding said she was a credit to herself and he understands she was one of the few ‘‘wards of the state’’ to complete university as a qualified social worker and is now a married mother of four.

However, Mr Spaulding said no matter what he does, it is really his wife and her natural mothering and grandmothering instincts to care and be inclusive, that plays a big role in their capacity to do what they do.

His daughter Sarah, with her husband Michael Loft and their nine-month-old daughter Nadine, have now also started the process to foster children, something which Mr Spaulding said he is really proud.

Glenhaven Family Care is a proud Tasmanian community organisation that for over 50 years has provided emergency, respite and long-term care for children from families in need of support.

For more information visit www.glenhaven.org.au or call 6343-7551 (Northern region) or 63451144 (North-West).