A good egg: Local senior Bruce Ferguson
SENIORS WRAP
Senior Bruce Ferguson is one of those hard working Aussies that just jumps in to help with whatever is needed.
Many people around Port Douglas would know Mr Ferguson’s face as the previous owner of Port Douglas Taxis, Nautilus Limousines, and Sun Palm Bus Company.
His businesses provided service to our community for 19 years. Mr Ferguson has now retired and sold the businesses but he likes to spend his spare time helping out in the community.
You’ll find him at the Neighbourhood centre on Tuesday afternoon rolling up his sleeves and helping with the OzHarvest delivery amongst other things.
A good egg
One thing many people might not know about Mr Ferguson is that he was once an egg farmer at Lilydale in Coldstream where he had 17,000 hens producing 11,000 eggs per day.
This egg farming experience makes Bruce the absolutely best person in town to sort out the eggs the Port Douglas Neighbourhood Centre gets donated to their food rescue program each week.
He’s a pretty good egg himself and an invaluable member of the Volunteer Team at the Centre.
Younger years
Mr Ferguson grew up in Richmond where he attended Melbourne High School.
He describes the best year of his life as 1956 when he played drums on stage at Melbourne Town Hall. He also saw the “world’s best drummer” Jean Crupper live on stage there and was able to attend the Melbourne Olympics in his role as a boy scout.
Mr Ferguson was involved in building one of the nation’s iconic vehicles as an engineer at General Motors Holden where he worked on the specifications for the Kingswood.
In 1971 he bought a brand new Burnt Orange HQ Kingswood for himself which continued to drive when he came to live in Port Douglas in May 1986. He also built Kenworth trucks back in the day, so he’s definitely had a hand in helping to build our country from the ground up.
Recently, Mr Ferguson has raised more than $750 for the Port Douglas Neighbourhood Centre by collecting Containers for Change from the resorts in town; he has donated the proceeds to the Centre.
MEANTIME IN OTHER SENIOR NEWS…
Seniors break down barriers
Kewarra Aged Care has introduced a multi-generational program which provides an opportunity for residents to spend time with young people connecting through shared activity and storytelling.
Sun Pacific English College has an international campus at Kewarra Beach and hosts students from around the world who come to learn English and experience Australian culture.
Nicky Mifsud, Lifestyle Coordinator at Kewarra Aged Care had previously been a host mum for students from the college and as a result of this experience developed the program as a way of breaking through generational and cultural barriers.
On the student’s first visit to the home, they shared their stories and were also keen to learn about the residents’ backgrounds.
“By the end of the hour, students were wanting to adopt their new friends and did not want to leave”, Ms Mifsud said.
The residents made Aussie themed hats for their guests, while the students shared their origami skills with the group and freshly made pancakes were enjoyed as a special treat.
Resident at Kewarra, Dawn, said she just loved the afternoon.
“My student was so sweet, she didn’t want to let me go,” she said.
Another resident, Maria added that children make her so happy and the afternoon was just perfect.
Kewarra Aged Care will work together with Sun Pacific English College throughout the year to plan visits and introduce new students to the program.
Lifestyle Coordinator Ms Mifsud said that the residents are eagerly looking forward to the monthly visits, but she expects to see much more of the students as many of them have expressed an interest in volunteering at the home and even working there while they are studying in Australia.
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