When I received the 2025 Senior Australian of the year for Victoria in November I was excited at the prospect of being part of the National Awards ceremony in Canberra, a ceremony I had watched many times on TV.
I didn’t know then but it was not just the Awards ceremony, but a four day extravaganza in Canberra with multiple events and the opportunity to meet my fellow nominees and many previous winners.
I thought you might like to hear a little bit about those four days
Diana and I arrived in Canberra in early afternoon and after a quick photo shoot, we were off to the Australian War Memorial to witness the Last Post ceremony followed by dinner in the newly renovated dome. I believe this was the first official function held since the renovation. We had the pleasure of spending the evening with 2020 Australian of the Year and fellow diet advocate James Muecke and his wife Nina, as well as catchup with the other Victorian nominees and my old friend Mark Taylor (AOTY 1999)
The next morning we were off to Parliament House, initially just the 36 nominees, for a two hour session where we got to know the other nominees state-by-state. We each had a couple of minutes to tell our story. Every story was remarkable and it was not hard to see why they had been the State winners. The Australians of the Year, Senior Australians of the Year, Young Australians of the Year and the Local Heroes were all impressive stories of humble, driven, outstanding Australians.
It also made me realise, once I heard the story of West Australian Ollie Pickett that there was only going to be one winner of the Senior Australian of the Year. What a remarkable man and his project Wheelchairs for Kids – look it up. I also had the pleasure of meeting my old friend Stephanie Foster, now the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, whom I have known since childhood and it’s so good to see that she’s been so successful.
The next event was a remarkable lunch held for 400 people in the Great Hall of Parliament House. The room was decorated with huge photos of all the previous winners, the indigenous performers put on a fantastic show of music and dance, and subsequently we had more music, more dance, excellent speeches and also the opportunity to mingle and talk to nominees and past winners. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Keith Potger, one of the legendary The Seekers, Australians of the Year in 1967, the same year they played that amazing concert at the Music Bowl in Melbourne in front of 100,000 fans. The highlight of the lunch for me was when the band and singers did the old Seekers song We are One and they were joined on stage by Keith and Athol Guy.
After lunch they actually gave us a couple of hours off before we were off, initially to Old Parliament House where each of the nominees had a banner fluttering in the breeze in the forecourt. Certainly a weird experience to see a photo on a banner like that.
From there we were off to the Governor General’s reception. It was a gorgeous Canberra summer evening and the lawns leading down to the lake at Yarralumla were beautiful. Had a good chat to 1983 Australian of the Year my old mate “Deek” – Robert de Castella.
The next morning Saturday we were off to morning tea with the Prime Minister at The Lodge, a very special occasion. My son who lives in Canberra was only mildly impressed that we were going to Parliament House and Government House, but super impressed that we were off to The Lodge – apparently not many people get that opportunity! The PM was very hospitable and spoke extremely well.
From there it was on to the Arboretum which was a venue for that evening’s Award Ceremony and we were briefed as to the processes of the evening. That afternoon was quiet and then it was off to the Award Ceremony.
After we had negotiated the red carpet, there a nice dinner and then we were really in a TV studio. It was a TV event and it ran very smoothly.
The various winners were announced, firstly the Local Heroes, two young Canberra women Hannah Costello and Vanessa Brettell, who employed and trained migrant women with minimal language and work skills in their cafes. Then there was a Young Australian of the Year, Dr Katrine Wruck a brilliant young researcher from QUT who had found a way of making reusable laundry detergent.
Then it was time for my category the Senior Australian of the Year and to no one’s surprise (except the winner’s!) the winner was indeed Brother Ollie Pickett. One of the pleasures of the week was spending time with Ollie who is the most gentle, humble person especially in light of his achievements. He was overwhelmed, I think, to receive the award, even though I told him a few hours earlier that he was a shoo in!
Then it was the Australian of the Year and the deserved winner was Neale Daniher, a remarkable man surrounded by an incredibly supportive family. What a great choice! I had the pleasure of a conversation with Neale at The Lodge that morning. He is non-verbal, but can use eye movements to type onto a screen and we had an excellent conversation about drugs in sport – quite incredible.
The next morning we were invited to attend the Flag Raising and Citizenship Ceremony hosted by the Prime Minister and the Governor General on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin. We had the Army guard of honour, the Duntroon band and indigenous performers, before a group of immigrants from a whole range of countries pledged their future to our country. And a chance to properly congratulate Ollie.
After that it was back to the hotel and then back to Melbourne exhausted. What an amazing four days, so many wonderful events, but more importantly the opportunity to meet some incredible people. I feel very privileged.
Thank you and congratulations on a wonderful event to the National Australia Day Council Board and staff. You were all fantastic.
