Your storyis our story
To celebrate Queensland Seniors Month, Wesley Mission Queensland is sharing the stories of a diverse group of seniors showing that life doesn’t stop at 60!
60 Second Seniors is a heartwarming and inspiring look at what you can continue to achieve with a positive spirit, a good sense of humour and strong connections to family and the wider community.
Watch below our 60 seconds video stories.
Now you see it, now you don’t. Robert started off life as a hypnotist until a patient set him off on a magical new path.
Hi. I'm Rob. I'm 79 years old. I started out as a therapist and I became a hypnotist. One day a fellow walks in and he says to me, can you teach me to be a hypnotist? And I said, what do you do for a living? And he said, I'm a magician. And I said, I've always wanted to do magic.
I've always wanted to be a magician, so we traded. And one day I met a fellow and he lived in Las Vegas and he said, you should have a show in Las Vegas, and I said, well, I never even thought about it. He says, well, I know of a small casino, and I think I could get you in there, at least for a few weekends.
So I had the show there for about five years, and it was a small casino sat about 50 people, but it sold out every night. And I would sit them in a chair and I would tell their elephant, you know, their unconscious mind that they can't get out of the chair and they couldn't get out of the chair and it's funny to watch them because, you know, they're like. I would take $100 notes out of my pocket, out of my wallet, and I'd say, they're yours, just take them.
Well, of course, they couldn't get out of the chair. They were oh, they were sweating and laughing. And then they started laughing and of course, the audience is laughing because they're thinking now, if I were there, I would get out of that chair and take that money. But they wouldn't. Because once your unconscious mind believes something is true, it's true for you.
A tale of teddy bears, travel and connecting young with old.
My children were involved in ballroom dancing and I did all the costumes. And when I retired from sewing, I wanted to do something worthwhile. So I started having students from overseas that went to Shafston University. I started doing little bears for them, so they took them home.
So my bears are all over the world. The first one I knitted, the little girl cried. She was a little Japanese student and she got very emotional that someone could do something for her. I just wanted to knit something with love, that she could cuddle at night and not miss her family so much.
And then it went on from there. Every student that came wanted a bear. Over 20 years I’ve knitted thousands of bears all over the world. I wanted to show them the hospitality that true Australians share.
It's the gift that you can give and something that you've done for someone that you know, that they're going to have pleasure from. I had a Swiss student for 12 months and as he was leaving, he asked me, could he have a barbecue for 20 people? And I said, Of course you can.
They were coming in taxis and all sorts of things and ended up there was about 80 students in my backyard, round my pool and they came up and got me and were singing Marjorie, Marjorie, and my next door neighbor the next morning said, Marjorie, you must have had a lovely birthday party last night.
And I didn't like to say how many different students from different countries. And one student from Korea said a prayer. A special prayer.
A special connection to a world champion is just one of the things Dorothy loves about the golf course.
My name's Dorothy, and I've just had a lovely morning this morning, I played nine holes of golf with some friends and now for the last hour, I've just had a lesson learning how to play golf balls out of the bunker, which is quite tricky to do when you're a golfer, unless you're good. We've known Cam since he was a little boy.
When he was younger, we did play golf with him sometimes and then he sort of became quite a good friend, yeah. I used to make biscuits for him, ginger biscuits. One time Cam, was when he'd grown up, probably a few years ago, he came past our place and I saw him, so I went down and I said, oh Cam, I haven't got any biscuits for you.
Don't worry Dot he said, I just came to see you and I was so stoked that he said that it was just something I'll never forget. Even on a bad day you have a few laughs and a few giggles about bad golf scores. But, oh, I hope I can play golf a very long time because it's so much fun.
Trevor and his giant schnauzers have been putting smiles on people’s faces from Cambodia to Chermside.
My name's Trevor Shelley. I'm 75, and I'm semi-retired. I began bringing the dogs to the aged care centers about two and a half years ago. I'd returned from Cambodia, where I was looking after a doggy day care and a lot of other things. I have two dogs, two Giant Schnauzers which are, their jet black? The younger dog is only one year old.
Her name is Talisker. Everybody knows is a Scotch Whiskey and the big dog, his name is Nikka, named after that beautiful Japanese Whiskey. And I did not name them my wife was responsible. When we come through the ward, there are a whole range of reactions. The eyes and the face absolutely light up and the bedridden patients, especially because they're tall enough just to put their head on the bed and be patted.
I intend to keep on doing it indefinitely. First of all, I enjoy it and I look forward to it in that I've made some friends and I really enjoy the interaction between the dogs and the people who are living here. Just generally the reaction is fantastic.
Conquering Kokoda at 87 and a 300km walk at 90 – what will Athol do next?
Hello folk. My name is Athol, and I just want to share a wonderful adventure that I've just completed with some good friends and that was to walk 309 kilometers for Hummingbird House to raise funds for the children. The walk was 13 days all together and at Blackbutt we had one day off. Everyday was a new adventure. We started with the tough stuff first, so 30 or 30 kilometers plus for the day.
But that was good, we were fresh and so we did it, no trouble. It wasn't just a walk. It was an exciting adventure because we were doing it with a purpose. When we reached the finish line, it was pretty exciting, the support people gave. It's unreal. It's wonderful, really. We did eventually raise $25,000 plus for the work of Hummingbird House, and that was so pleasing.
We walked to the starting point and there was a big sign on the gate to the rail trail. RAIL TRAIL CLOSED and so we just opened the gate and went in and started. We weren't about to turn back.
When tardiness trips you up – and saves your life!
My name is Eileen Souter and I joined the women's army during the war. Oh, well, I enjoyed it altogether I did clerical work, which was all I did that time. You got up early in the morning and you got dressed in your uniform and went and lined up to march to work. I wasn't interested in getting promoted. I wasn't worried about that.
I just enjoyed being with the other girls. I was running like, should I say? Which was the usual thing with me. I was seldom on time. The sirens went and I started running but I fell flat on my face. And afterwards, the girls said we’re so glad you remembered, we wouldn't have fallen, we'd have kept running. That was the thing to do.
Throw yourself flat on your face but I turned to run, and they thought that was a huge joke, I hadn't deliberately thrown myself on the face. I was turning to run, and that's what happened. But it worked well. None of us got hurt, we seemed to be always laughing.
A simple smile can be just as rewarding as a life in the corporate world.
Well after having spent very close to 50 years in the corporate world. I thought, well, I've got to start doing something. So I looked at volunteering. I've been doing it now close to four years, and it's probably been the most four rewarding years of my whole working life. There's a very special lady that I've built a great rapport with who has gone through cancer treatment.
And I'm pleased to say she survived and a lot of the time, I was the only person she had to talk to, and I was the only one there to really help her through. So many people in our community are on their own. I maybe the only person they get to see in one or two weeks and when they see you, when you’ve travelled with them before, their faces just light up.
The gratification you get from their smile, you can't ask for anything better than that. I can't see me stopping this until the day that the doctors decide that I can't drive anymore.
From a wheelchair to rock climbing and music festivals – you can’t keep a good woman down!
Hi. I'm Lisa. I'm 70 years old. I came to Australia in wheelchair. I couldn't walk, couldn't swallow, I had tremors all over from Parkinson's disease. My daughter said, Mum, we got to get you out of that wheelchair. So she bought me a walker. First it was just to the bathroom and back then around the room. Step by step, persist and you will succeed.
No more tremors. I can walk. I jog, I dance like crazy. Ok, the rock climbing, I love it. The ukulele. I do at Wesley Mission. I've always lived my best life but yeah, I love it now. Yeah, I've got good friends. Yeah. Everything good. I love music festivals. I volunteer six days a week. I go to the gym twice a week.
Yeah. Do something new. Try something different. Explore!
A parting gift from his mother as a young boy has taken Paul on 66-year musical adventure.
G’day. My name's Paul, and I've been carrying a harmonica in my pocket for 66 years. Well, I was a victim of a major flood over the River Murray in 1956. Every child in the town was put on a bus and sent off to stay with an auntie or an uncle or a friend in Adelaide.
And as I got on the bus with my sisters and my brothers, my mother came up to me, gave me a big hug and gave me this harmonica. I used to go to my bed at night, get under the blankets and play music to cover up my tears. We were in Penzance, in Cornwall, at a concert put on by the Marazion Male Voice Choir.
So they invited this pianist up to this grand piano, and she started playing a few notes, but the foot pedal jammed and she said, I can't play a thing. So I stood up, brang the harmonica out of my pocket, and I played a little bit of Bach.
The crowd were roaring with applause. They stood up and they called me up on the stage. There is only one disadvantage. I can't sing and play harmonica at the same time.
Helping people has always been a part of who Jenny is and now in later life she is helping to bring her community together in the name of charity.
Good morning. I'm Jenny Godwin. I'm 79 years of age and I live here at Wheller on the Park. I love people and I love helping people. And I absolutely love helping charities. And I do a supper dance every three months and have been doing this for eight years.
The format of the event is you come and you have about a table of eight, some people want ten and I have about ten tables. There's just so much love in the room. There really is and everyone goes home on a high wanting to come back to the next one. Another thing that I love is seeing people come and what a beautiful connection they have with everybody, their friends, because they are asking their friends as well.
And then the friends at the next table and the next table and then everybody gets up to dance. When my mother died and I said to myself, every day, I want to do one thing for someone. I want to go to bed at night and know that I've done one thing for somebody, that I can go to bed at night and think, Well, you've done a good deed today, but I'd just like to think that my mother and father would be proud of me whenever we meet again.
And if I can make someone happy, that's what I want to do.
It’s never too late to make a change and live the life you want.
My name is Olive. I'm a mental health clinician. I had a career as a mental health clinical nurse with a forensic team. I was starting to feel like it was a stressful sort of job. So at the age of 64 and almost 65, I resigned from this major organisation. In the middle of long service leave, I started to panic.
I'm thinking, What am I going to do? Who's going to hire me at my age? And as time went on, I realised I had enormous skills. You know, I wasn't. I was forgetting how skilled I was. I suppose when you're 23, 24 or even 30, interviewing someone with my sort of skills, I don't really think they know how skilled a 60 year old might be.
And then I finally got this job and I'm very happy and I'm really enjoying it. So here I am, working as a counselor and a mental health clinician. One of the first things that will drag them down is the age factor. “I’m too old”, I've heard it. Whereas the skill that we have, is second to none. Don't think that you're not good enough or most particularly, that you have to be young.
As a physiotherapist, Yvonne has dedicated her life to helping others, with mobility and assisting them to live their best lives.
My name is Yvonne or physiotherapist. I still have the enjoyment of being able to do a lot of the things that I did in my younger years. I still have the opportunity to meet up with physiotherapy students in their final year. They love me telling the stories of the way in which our profession has grown and the differences and the experiences I’ve had over the years.
When I first graduated and there was polio and I had always loved working with children and I was working with children with different limitations of movement, really, because that's what polio was. You don't expect reward. The reward is in your in your life, in in the joy and and an ability to enable people to enjoy their lives.
Wesley Mission Queensland's retirement and aged care services are all about helping you continue to live a life of meaning and purpose. Retirement living, residential aged care, home care, allied health, metal health and respite are some of the services we offer.
Read the latest news on Wesley Mission Queensland, our clients and our community.
We focus on clinical exercises that are designed to address specific health outcomes, rather than general fitness goals. It’s this tailored approach that makes a real difference for our clients.
– Belinda Sutherland, General Manager – Health and Wellbeing, the head and heart behind both wellbeing centres.
Start 2025 the right way! At Wheller Gardens Wellbeing Centre in Chermside and Fulton Wellbeing Centre in Sinnamon Park, you’ll find not only a range of health services, from hydrotherapy and exercise physiology to dietetics and speech therapy, but also clinical group exercise classes. These classes are led by an in-house clinical team, offering individualised guidance to help you achieve your health goals in 2025.
The wellbeing centres take a unique approach to fitness, tailored to individual needs. Whether you're managing a health condition, recovering from an injury, or simply aiming to stay active, the clinical team ensures every session is safe, effective, and focused on your overall wellbeing.
One key distinction is that Fulton and Wheller Gardens Wellbeing Centres don't offer traditional fitness classes. Instead, clinical group classes focus on improving individual wellbeing and preventing chronic illnesses.
This structured approach highlights the importance of movement in managing health. Clinical exercise is a preventative tool that helps individuals lead healthier, more active lives.
Exercise is medicine. Just like a prescription, it’s going to help you age well, increase your fitness, and avoid chronic disease.
– Belinda Sutherland, General Manager – Health and Wellbeing.
Small group sizes and personalised support ensure each participant receives guidance tailored to their unique goals and abilities.
Collaboration is at the heart of these efforts. As Belinda shares, "The staff are really excited too. They totally get what we do, and it’s great to see everyone coming together to make this happen."
In addition to classes, the multidisciplinary clinical teams provide advice, intervention, and support.
We address all facets of ageing well, really getting in front of musculoskeletal issues, chronic disease, and pain which affect us later in our lives.
Having a holistic approach to our health as we age is vital. That's where a team of exercise physiologists, physiotherapists, nutritionists and dietitians, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, and podiatrists comes in, supporting clients and recommending lifestyle modifications to prevent chronic disease over time.
Our clinical team is used to working with adults across the continuum, from being healthy and well, to managing chronic disease, pain, and injury.
The helpfulness, patience and compassion you experience from reception, physios, exercise physiologists, podiatry and all of your classes is commendable. I hold WMQ and all staff in the highest regard.
– Health and wellbeing client, January 2025.
Wellbeing isn’t just about physical health—it’s also about fostering a sense of community and social connections. Co-located with retirement villages, both centres serve as a hub for a wider community.
“There's cafes on site, where people often go and have coffee afterwards, so we see a lot of friendships developed”, explains Belinda.
For many participants, joining a clinical exercise program is as much about connection as it is about health. "It’s wonderful to see how people bond over shared goals and experiences," Belinda adds. "They come for the exercise, but they stay for the friendships."
Classes are designed to foster a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere. Unlike standard fitness centres, our smaller group sizes and personalised support ensure everyone feels comfortable and connected.
By encouraging exercise in supportive group settings, we address physical health while encouraging social interaction.
Research consistently shows that social connections play a crucial role in overall health and wellbeing. As Belinda highlights:
It’s not just about moving your body—it’s about feeling part of a community. That sense of belonging can be just as important as the physical benefits of exercise.
Would you like to know more?
Get in touch today to discover how we can support your well-being.
Call our team on 1800 448 448 or reach us online.
Located in Chermside and Sinnamon Park, our health and wellbeing centres in Brisbane offer premium facilities, including wheelchair-accessible gyms and a hydrotherapy pool at Sinnamon Park. Each centre fosters connection and support, creating a vibrant and welcoming community.
Here’s what makes our services stand out:
To help you get started, we’re offering 10 expert-led group classes for just $10 each, with no joining fee, saving you $150! This special offer is available until 28 February 2025 and includes a free health assessment to set you up for success.
Spaces are limited, so book early to secure your spot. Call us at 1800 448 448 or visit our website for more information. Let’s make 2025 your healthiest year yet!
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