Ambassadors 2010
The 2010 NSW Seniors Week Ambassadors lent their names, energy and time to challenge some of society's stereotypes around ageing and raise awareness of the valuable contributions seniors continue to make to our community.
ITA BUTTROSE AO OBE became a household name as a magazine and newspaper editor. She is a member of the Advisory Council of Alzheimer’s Australia (NSW) and is patron of the Macular Degeneration Foundation of Australia. Her ninth book, Eating for Eye Health – The Macular Degeneration Cookbook, co-authored with Sydney chef Vanessa Jones, was published last year. Ita was appointed Vice President Emeritus of Arthritis Australia in 2009, having previously served as national president. She received an OBE for her services to journalism in 1979; became an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1988 for her services to the community in the field of medical education and health care; and was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2003 for business leadership in Australian society.
MAX CULLEN is a leading Australian actor with a long career in the visual and performing arts. Starting as a painter and sculptor, Max studied acting under Hayes Gordon at The Ensemble Theatre. Since then he has had a prolific acting career on stage, in film and on television. He has performed more than 35 feature films including My Brilliant Career, Australia and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He has also featured in hundreds of television programs and in countless plays. Max has won a host of awards for his work on both stage and screen.
BRUCE ELDER is an award-winning `journalist and author. He has been involved in writing more than 60 books including Blood on the Wattle and the internet travel guide Walkabout. He is also the Australian editor of Trivial Pursuit and is currently working on a project with Trivial Pursuit online. Bruce has worked as a print and radio journalist in London and Sydney and is a weekly guest on ABC Radio’s Tony Delroy’s Nightlife program.
WARREN FAHEY AM is a social historian, folklorist, author and performer who has built a distinguished career as a record producer and broadcaster. He has received many awards including 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, in 2009, the ABC released his collection of 10 CDs that tell Australia’s history from convict days to the present.
JUDITH GREEN MBE OAM was appointed Captain Social Services with the occupation force in Japan after World War II, later returning to work as a social worker in hospitals in Sydney. She was a liaison officer for the Department of Health with the Home and Community Care Program and served on the board of NSW Meals on Wheels Association. Having had a lifetime interest and involvement with agricultural shows, Judith became President of the South Coast and Tablelands Show Societies in 1996.
AUNTY MILLIE INGRAM is a Wiradjuri woman from Cowra in Central NSW. She has worked for Aboriginal rights most of her life at community level, in childcare, employment and education. Millie worked for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and was elected representative on the NSW Aboriginal Land Council for the Wiradjuri region. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer for the Wyanga Aboriginal Aged Care Program based in Redfern, which cares for Aboriginal Elders in their own homes. Millie is a strong supporter of the process of reconciliation.
REX IRWIN is one of Australia’s leading art dealers, establishing Rex Irwin Art Dealer in Sydney in 1976. For many years, his was the only commercial gallery to show international masters such as Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Toulouse Lautrec. The gallery represents both established and emerging Australian and international artists. Rex is also an enthusiastic sponsor of emerging talent in the Australian Opera and National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).
MARILYN JONES OBE 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 a principal dancer in 1962 and was the Artistic Director between 1979 and 1981, when she founded The Dancers Company. She taught and coached ballet prior to her retirement in 2005 and was a lecturer in classical dance at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
TONI LAMOND AM is an iconic singer, actor, dancer and comedienne. In a local and international career spanning more than 60 years, Toni has starred in countless productions and classic TV shows such as Number 96 and Graham Kennedy’s In Melbourne Tonight. Recently, she featured in the Australian film Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance and an autobiographical one-woman show, Times of My Life, co-written with her son Tony Sheldon. She has also written several bestselling autobiographical books.
BRIAN MCGUIGAN AM is the former managing director and a current director of McGuigan Simeon Wines Limited. Brian has been at the forefront of the Australian wine industry for more than 35 years, having founded Wyndham Estate in the 1970s. One of the wine industry’s most versatile and well-known figures, he takes his wines all over Australia and around the world, sharing his skills as a viticulturist, marketer and communication specialist.
GRAHAM ROSS has an unsurpassed knowledge and passion for plants, gardens and cultural traditions. He presents the popular weekly program The Garden Clinic on 2GB and is the gardening specialist on Channel Seven’s successful lifestyle program Better Homes and Gardens. Graham has won many awards in radio, television and the horticultural industry, and was a trustee of Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens for 11 years.
HON. SUSAN RYAN AO was a founding member of the Women’s Electoral Lobby in Canberra and has continued to be an effective advocate for the status of women, equal opportunity in employment and human rights. She served as Minister for Education and Youth Affairs and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Status of Women in the Hawke government. Since 2005 she has been at the forefront of a community campaign for a human rights Act for Australia, and is now chair of the Australian Human Rights Group. Susan is chair of the trustee board of the IAG/NRMA Superannuation Plan and is a frequent media commentator on superannuation, politics, education, and women’s employment and income.
PENELOPE SEIDLER AM is an architect, accountant and patron of the arts. She was awarded a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Sydney and joined Seidler and Associates in 1964 as architect and financial manager. Penelope has been a member of the New York Museum of Modern Arts’ International Council since 1973, and is a former member of the National Gallery of Australia. Penelope and her late husband, Harry Seidler, fought for progressive aesthetic values for Sydney, backing Jørn Utzon for the design of the Opera House, and striving to prevent demolition of modern architectural heritage.
GRETTA ANNA TEPLITZKY is the retired owner and principal of the Gretta Anna Teplitzky School of Continental Cooking in Wahroonga. Trained at the Cordon Bleu in both London and Paris, Gretta has worked in premier restaurants around the world. She has written renowned recipe books The Gretta Anna Recipes and More Gretta Anna Recipes. Her son Martin (Bon Cafard Restaurant, Berowra Waters Inn) followed her footsteps into the kitchen and now her 14-year-old grandson Miro has completed his first cookbook for teenagers, dedicated, of course, to his famous grandmother.
TOM UREN AO was instrumental in establishing the heritage and conservation movement in Australia. In 1941, Tom joined the Australian Army, serving in the 2/40th Infantry Battalion and was a prisoner of war from 1942 to 1945, working on the Burma-Siam railway. Tom was Minister for Urban and Regional Development in the Whitlam government from 1972 to 1975, and was the last veteran of World War II in the House of Representatives. In retirement he continues to campaign for various causes, including the protection of Sydney Harbour and its foreshores.
AUNTY BERYL VAN-OPLOO is a descendent of the Gamillaroi nation of Walgett, NSW. She has worked in the hospitality industry for 50 years and became a TAFE teacher in tourism and hospitality more than 20 years ago. In October 2006, Aunty Beryl started Yaama Dhiyaan Hospitality Training, a catering service, function centre and hospitality training school for Aboriginal youth, in partnership with the Redfern-Waterloo Authority. With chef Mathew Cribb, she has developed a cuisine style that fuses Indigenous methods and ingredients with international flavours. Yaama Dhiyaan means "welcome friends and family" in the Yuwaalaraay language of Van-Oploo's Gamillaroi people.
DR KATHLEEN WARREN is a former senior lecturer at the Institute of Early Childhood at Macquarie University and has an international reputation in teaching and researching drama for young children. She has been The Wiggles' early childhood adviser since 1996, consulting on scripts, books and stories. Kathleen is passionate about drama and has appeared in numerous productions for the Newcastle Repertory Theatre as well as working throughout NSW as an adjudicator of speech and drama eisteddfods.
PROFESSOR JOHN YEO AO is Australia's leading spinal expert. Currently senior consultant to the Spinal Injuries Unit at Royal North Shore Hospital, his speciality is the care of injured patients who have paraplegia or quadriplegia. John is Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Sydney. He also devotes considerable time to speaking to various sporting, professional, community and educational groups to promote the prevention of spinal injuries. In 1982 John was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for Services to Medicine.