NSW Government Human Services Ageing, Disability and Home Care: NSW Minister for Ageing and Disability Services Paul Lynch today announced an impressive line up of accomplished senior Australians who will be Ambassadors for this year's NSW Seniors Week.
Penelope Seidler, Ita Buttrose, Stuart Wagstaff, and Mungo MacCallum are among the 19 high profile ambassadors set to share their stories and attend many of the 500 Seniors Week events across NSW between 15 to 22 March 2009.
"Seniors Week is a time to celebrate older members of our community and to recognise the important contribution they make to our state each day," Mr Lynch said.
"It is exciting to have such high calibre and well respected ambassadors who, through their achievements and positive outlook, embody what it means to Live Life.
"The popular ‘Chat Series' returns where some of the 2009 Seniors Week Ambassadors will share their stories and personal perspectives on getting older."
Penelope Seidler, architect and long time supporter of the arts in Australia who is joining the Ambassador Program for the first time this year, said older Australians had a lot to offer.
"Seniors Week is a wonderful opportunity for us to share the wisdom and knowledge of our experience," she said.
Mr Lynch said that up to 250,000 people attended Seniors Week events, including the Premier's Gala Concerts, local community activities, many of which had received funding grants from the NSW Government.
"Seniors' Week is one of the biggest seniors' events in the southern hemisphere.
"There is a full program of events in the metro, regional and rural areas of NSW. Free event programs will be available online and distributed through registered clubs from the beginning of March. I encourage all seniors to pick up a copy and join in events in their area."
NSW Seniors Week is funded by the NSW Government and organised by the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (DADHC). For further details, please visit www.nswseniorsweek.com.au.
Ends (Ambassador profiles follow on next three pages )
MEDIA CONTACT: Tim O'Halloran 0434 188 980 0434 188 980 (Minister Lynch)
Felicita Benedikovics 0416 796 748 0416 796 748 (for interviews with ambassadors)
2009 NSW Seniors Week Ambassadors
Bruce Elder is a journalist and writer. He has been involved in writing more than 60 books including Blood on the Wattle and the travel guide Walkabout. He is the Australian editor of Trivial Pursuit. Bruce has worked as a print and radio journalist in both London and Sydney and is an award-winning journalist with the Sydney Morning Herald as well as a weekly guest on ABC radio's Tony Delroy's Nightlife.
Warren Fahey AM is a social historian, folklorist, author and performer from Sydney's Kings Cross. He has built a distinguished career as a record producer and broadcaster and has been honoured with many awards including Member of the Order of Australia in 1996, Australian Music Industry Person of the Year in 2000 and the Bush Laureate Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. Warren is a keen folklore collector and this year the ABC will release his collection of 10 CDs of over 200 songs and poems that tell Australia's history from convict days to the present.
Stuart Wagstaff OAM is one of Australia's most respected actors and media personalities. He has played many leading man roles including Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady and Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music. Stuart's television career began with Studio A for Channel 7 in Sydney and in 1965 he took the role of the Beast in the daytime panel show Beauty and the Beast. Stuart has remained active in theatre and television making regular appearances in series such as GP, Rafferty's Rules and All Saints. He is an international ambassador for the Variety Club, patron of the Actors Benevolent Society and patron of Stamford House, a half-way house for people with HIV/AIDS.
Mungo MacCallum is a journalist, political commentator and author. He has worked for most of Australia's major media outlets, including The Australian, Australian Financial Review, ABC, SBS and written for Penthouse. His books include Mungo's Canberra and Poll Dancing - the 2007 Election. Mungo's hobbies include reading, theatre, bodysurfing, bush-walking, travelling, gardening, watching sport and lunching. He lives with his partner, has two daughters and is a proud grandfather.
Brian McGuigan AM is one of the wine industry's most versatile and well-known figures. Brian founded the Wyndham Estate Wine Company at Dalwood in the Hunter Valley in the 1970's, building one of the most successful wine companies in Australia. He is the former managing director and a current director of McGuigan Simeon Wines Limited and has been at the forefront of the Australian wine industry for more than 35 years. Using his skills as a winemaker, viticulturist, marketer and communication specialist, he takes his wines all over Australia and around the world.
Jon Lam is an actor, mature age student and carer. He has held positions at the ABC and the Department of Foreign Affairs and as result of living in Papua New Guinea as a child speaks fluent Pidgin English. Since Jon discovered acting he has appeared in film, television and corporate videos, most recently appearing in the successful production of Codgers. Jon enrolled at university as a mature age student to study Asian Studies and keeps fit and active by walking and through Qigong.
Ita Buttrose AO, OBE has had an impressive career in print, radio and television which has turned her into a household name. She is a businesswoman, journalist and author and at 33 became the youngest-ever editor of The Australian Women's Weekly. She was the first woman to edit a major metropolitan daily newspaper in Australia when she was appointed editor-in-chief of the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs. Ita has served as national president of Arthritis Australia and was inaugural chair of the NSW Government's Seniors Media Network set up to improve the image of older people in the media.
Marilyn Jones is regarded as one of Australia's finest ballerinas. She studied at the Royal Ballet School in London and joined the Borovansky Ballet in 1959 where her acclaimed partnership with Garth Welch began. Marilyn joined the Australian Ballet as principal dancer in 1962 and was its artistic director between 1979 and 1981 where she founded the Dancers' Company. She taught and coached ballet extensively prior to her retirement in 2005 and was lecturer in classical dance at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). She continues her role as artistic director of the Australian Institute of Classical Dance which was formed in 1992 to assist dance teachers, choreographers and students.
Nancye Hayes OAM is an actor, dancer, singer, choreographer and director. She began her career in JC Williamson's production of My Fair Lady in 1961 and in 2008 starred in it alongside Richard E. Grant. In 1967 Nancye established her name in the title role in Sweet Charity and since then has sung and danced her way through a cavalcade of musical successes and recently finished a sell out season of Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks with Todd McKenny for the Ensemble Theatre. Nancye is honoured to have received two Lifetime Achievement Awards - from the Variety Club and from the Green Room Awards Association.
Millie Ingram is a Wiradjuri woman from Cowra in Central NSW and one of a family of 11. She has worked for Aboriginal rights all of her life, at community level in childcare, employment and education. Millie worked for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and then as the elected representative for the NSW Aboriginal Land Council for the Wiradjuri region. She is currently the CEO for Wyanga Aboriginal Aged Care Program based in Redfern, caring for Aboriginal Elders in their own homes. Her ambition is to have the Commonwealth Government provide a culturally appropriate aged care facility in Sydney for Aboriginal elderly citizens to help bridge the 23-year life expectancy gap of Aboriginal people and non Aboriginal Australians. Millie is a strong supporter of the Process of Reconciliation.
Penelope Seidler is an architect, accountant and patron of the arts. She has been a member of the New York Museum of Modern Art's International Council since 1973 and is a former member of the National Gallery of Australia. Penelope married Harry Seidler in 1958, was awarded a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Sydney and joined Seidler and Associates in 1964 as architect and financial manager. The Seidlers fought for progressive aesthetic values for Sydney, backing Jorn Utzon's design of the Opera House, preventing demolition of modern architectural heritage and commissioning works by Le Corbusier, Frank Stella, Alexander Calder and Sol LeWitt. Harry Seidler died in March 2006 after a long illness.
Ron Barr OAM is the founder of Youth Insearch and since 1985 more than 24,000 young people have participated in the program. Youth Insearch now runs projects in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Ron was the national training and development manager with a large food manufacturing company and was boarding master for 11 years at Newington College in Sydney. He received the Order of Australia Medal in 1995 for services to youth and in 2000 was named a Paul Harris Fellow, the highest honour in Rotary.
Pat Woodley is an internationally accredited communications and corporate image consultant based in Sydney. She is a television and radio presenter, newspaper columnist and sought-after media consultant and works with personnel ranging from receptionists to corporate executives and their families in the areas of communication, etiquette, presentation and style. Pat also does complete makeovers for both men and women.
Elizabeth Evatt AC has had a distinguished and respected career in law since graduating from the University of Sydney in 1955. She was a trail blazer for women's rights becoming the first chief judge of the Family Court of Australia and the first woman to preside in an Australian Federal Court. Elizabeth was chair of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and in 2003 became a commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists, based in Geneva. She is an honorary visiting professor of the University of New South Wales and sits on the board of management of the Human Rights Centre in the Faculty of Law. Elizabeth has a daughter and two grandchildren and maintains activities such as cycling, swimming, walking and playing the piano.
Graham Ross is a gardening presenter on television and radio. He presents his popular weekly program The Garden Clinic on 2GB and is the gardening specialist on Channel 7's popular lifestyle program Better Homes and Gardens. Graham's knowledge and passion for plants, gardens and cultural traditions is unsurpassed. His other passions include tending to his home garden in Beecroft, his family, growing his own produce, travelling and garden photography. Graham has won many awards in radio, television and the horticultural industry and was a trustee of Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens for 10 years.
Mary Schneider is one of Australia's best-known musicians, most notably for her passion and talent for yodelling. She has worked on television and radio as a jazz and country singer and is a multi-award winner of the coveted Mo Award for Best Vocal/Instrumental Performer and became a cult figure throughout the world thanks to the popularity of Yodelling the Classics -Volumes 1 and 2. Mary was also chosen as one of the great Australian icons alongside Kylie, Lifesavers and red-back spiders in a documentary on UK/TV and is pursuing her interest in jazz music.
Lorraine Bayly AM has become a household name for her acting in theatre, television and film. Her career, which spans more than 50 years, has seen her perform in some of Australia's best known and much loved television programs and films including The Sullivans and The Man from Snowy River. She is a founding member of the Ensemble Theatre Company and her theatre credits include Death of Salesman, The Last Yankee and Shoeshorn Sonata.
Florence Zaccaria is a yoga teacher and at the age of 91 continues to teach weekly classes at Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL, which she has done for 37 years. She began learning Hatha Yoga at the age of 28 and embarked on a lifetime of study, teaching and dedication to this art form. Florence participated in Australia's first health and exercise program for Channel Nine television in 1959 called Relaxing with Roma. Throughout her lifetime she has touched thousands of lives with her knowledge and her meditations.
Susan Ryan AO served as Minister for Education and Youth Affairs and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Status of Women in the Hawke government. She was a founding member of the Women's Electoral Lobby in Canberra and has continued to be outspoken about the status of women, equal opportunity in employment and human rights. Susan is chair of the trustee board of the IAG/NRMA Superannuation Plan and has held a number of leadership positions in Australian Superannuation, including President of the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees until 2007. Susan is a frequent media commentator on superannuation, politics, education and women's employment and income.
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