Community his passion

When Peter Hopper was named Victorian Senior of the Year, he listened to the achievements of other award winners and was a bit puzzled.

“I thought, ‘I don’t know why I’m here’. So many others seemed to have done more important things than me,” he said.

After a career spanning more than 40 years in primary and special education, including working with children at Kew Cottages, serving as principal of Travencore Child Psychiatric Centre and as a teacher at a school for maladjusted boys in London, Peter’s amazingly diverse volunteer work in the Bright area, where he retired, was a natural progression.

He has spent his professional life teaching, and developing and administering programs for disadvantaged people.

Today the 73-year-old is a tireless advocate for seniors as well as people with disabilities and those marginalised because of their ethnicity or cultural background.

“In a sense I’ve worked in retirement in a selfish sort of way – I wanted to continue using my skills and keep myself stimulated and active,” he said.

“But in each of the things I do, it’s not down to me; you can’t work in isolation and there are always teams of great people who keep the work going.”

Peter has been a member of the Alpine-Bright Community and Health Advisory Group for 12 years, chairing it for the past eight, providing a vital link between health services and the community. He is the driving force behind the Alpine Aged Care Advocacy Service, and works voluntarily supporting ethnic Chin refugees from Myanmar, teaching them English and helping them find their feet in a new country after fleeing oppression.

Peter also works with young Aboriginal people from the Wadeye community in the Northern Territory who attend the Bright P-12 College for some of the year as part of their educational program.

“It’s a cutting-edge program for these students who come to Bright to improve their education and work skills away from the negatives in their own community,” he said.

“I work one-to-one with them, and it gives me a great opportunity to continue using my educational skills. Peter is also keenly interested in disability and aged care.

“A couple of years ago, the shire provided seeding funds for active ageing programs in some of the more isolated communities in the region.

“Last year we had about 20 activities during Seniors Week in those communities, but this year there were fewer due to less funding being available. But programs like that are really important for older people, particularly in smaller communities up here, like those in the Kiewa Valley.”

While Peter dedicates many hours to improving life for others, he still manages to find the time and motivation to be an active member of Bright Historical Society, Probus, the Bridge Club and Senior Citizens’ Club.