By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
AS THE 91-year-old Berwick woman played the national anthem on her accordion, the Australian flag was raised into the soft breeze.
Many older Australians gathered in the beautiful grounds of the Aveo Edrington Park Retirement Village, in Berwick, to celebrate their country and watch the national flag rise towards the sky as Rodney Chalk, 91, played Advance Australia Fair.
The flag was raised by the Residents Committee chairman Brian Joyce and La Trobe MP Jason Wood.
“You come today to Edrington retirement village and you meet the senior Australians and realise they’ve made Australia the place it is,” Mr Wood said.
“They’ve fought in wars to give us freedoms and what I also love about today, you see people wearing the Australian flag and they’re so proud.
“In some ways we’re the lucky country but it hasn’t just come through luck itself, it’s actually come through hard work and making the most of our opportunities.
“I haven’t been here before but I took up the offer and one of the reasons I specifically came here is to thank the older Australians for everything they’ve done for this country.”
After the flag raising the residents and guests walked over to a special tree, planted by Harry Dickson in honour of Australia Day.
Mr Joyce, who has only recently taken over as Residents Committee chairman, said he was very excited to oversee the event and help residents and guests celebrate Australia Day.
“It’s a matter of trying to get them all out together to meet other residents that they haven’t seen before,” he said.
“There’s even some people here now I have never seen before.”
Mr Wood’s wife, Judy, and their young daughter, Jasmine, also attended the Edrington event. Judy, who was born in Hong Kong, has lived in many countries and views Australia as the pick of the bunch.
“Today is just a reminder of how lucky we are in this country, every single day,” Judy told Star News.
“I appreciate it because I’ve seen the conditions of a lot of other countries. For example my mother, she’s originally from China and I still remember growing up as a kid, that country was so, so poor.
“We travel a lot and every time we go overseas, as soon as we land back in Australia we’re just so glad. It’s a well-balanced country.
“Australia is a truly free country. People are very cultured, and there’s people from all over the world so they’re very worldly, very aware of the outside world around them.
“Obviously that’s one of the reasons we appreciate how lucky we are because we are very much aware what’s going on in the rest of the world.
“I love it here.”
