Patrick Templeton: I feel a bit giddy!
Aunty Jo Russell: It's such a honour.
Geoffrey Mann: It's better than sitting at home.
Dilnaz Billimoria: We're at the absolutely historic, iconic, beautiful Government House.
Patrick Templeton: We're celebrating the Victorian Senior of the Year Awards.
Aunty Jo Russell: I won the Emerging Impact Award. I've always had a passion of using Indigenous herbs for food, fibre and medicine. I built a bush food and fibre garden at Westmeadows Indigenous and Community Garden. I do a lot of workshops there. I teach them about culture. I had one on Sunday where the participants got to make pickled pigface.
Patrick Templeton: My wife and myself, we began Operation Stitches 30 years ago. We've been running a very strong tutoring program. We find that a lot of the children, they arrive in this country, a lot of migrants in the public housing, they might be behind with a lot of their schooling. And so we hop in and see whether we can bring them up to the same level as their peers. We reach out and accept them as themselves. We see gold in people I guess and we want to try and bring out that gold in them.
Dilnaz Billimoria: I founded the Whitehorse Interfaith Network 20 years ago when I came to this country. It's so important for social cohesion, for promoting peace, for fostering harmony, that all of us can come to the table and discuss who we are. I also do a lot of work in elder abuse and prevention of family violence, more so for our seniors, and within our seniors cohort, for our women. It seems to me that as we age, we women have Hogwarts’ disappearing cloak around us and we seem to fade into the background. And I will not allow that.
Geoffrey Mann: I do 2 half days a week with Barwon Health. I drive patient transport. And then I do 2 half days a week at Geelong Foodshare and we supply food for 25,000 people in Geelong. I work in the kitchen preparing takeaway meals there. If you have the time, it's great because you're meeting people, doing things.
Aunty Jo Russell: It's so good to volunteer and spread our knowledge. I just think it keeps you young.
Patrick Templeton: Perhaps with a lot of the younger generation, there could be a bit of a stigma, they think perhaps older people, they've had their life, they're not really important. And yet the seniors are important. Every age is important. And, you know, seniors, you do learn some things in life just because you've lived a certain length on earth and there's some wisdom that can be passed on and we can make a difference.
[End of transcript]
Reviewed 26 November 2025