Greasing the wheels of wellbeing

In a world full of endless opportunities, Peter Rogers’ 70-year membership of Australian Unity is a bond likely to stand the test of time.

Peter joined Australian Unity for health cover in the 1950s when he started work as an apprentice mechanic in the town of Saint Arnaud, 250 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. While there, Peter quickly rose from mechanic to foreman, finally becoming Service Manager, where he went on to win the Service Manager of the Year Award.

This is an award Peter won three more times in his career, while working for Holden dealers in and around the Ballarat region.

As Peter says, “I hope from looking at my career, house and hobbies you would know my expectations are fairly high.”

“I would think that you wouldn't get a better organisation to look after you, that’s why I chose Australian Unity.

“I've had Australian Unity health cover, and it was always good, so when the time came to choose a carer organisation, you couldn't go past Australian Unity.”

Care that changes with your circumstances

Peter originally enlisted Australian Unity for home care when his wife, Dorothy, started to get sick. Dorothy is now in supported accommodation, so Peter continued with Australian Unity for his own support. This support includes cleaning, podiatry, Lite ‘n Easy Meals, help with writing shopping lists, and Australian Unity even arranged for a fall watch just in case he has a tumble.

“I have no doubt, based on the experience we had with Dorothy—they were there to help us all the way right up to the day she went into care—I expect when my time comes to need more services, that they’ll be able to support me.”

Reflecting further on his current and future needs, Peter adds, “I'm going alright, but as age catches up with you, there'll be no doubt other things.”

It’s not only the practical support that helps Peter, he’s also learning key household tasks that he didn’t need to worry about when Dorothy was home running the house.

“With the help of the carers, over time, they’ve taught me how to cook, and they're in the middle of teaching me how to iron properly now and put those sheets on the bed,” he says.

“They were all the things that were done by Dorothy, and, you know, it's a bit of a shock when you’ve got to learn to do that yourself. I couldn't have done it without the ladies from Australian Unity.”

Peter says the home care support he receives boosts his wellbeing because it gives him time to do the things he wants to do. This includes visiting Dorothy, volunteering as a Justice of the Peace every fortnight—a civic position he’s held for 40 years—and repairing motor vehicles.

Turning a career into a hobby

Given he spent his life in the motor trade—a career his son also chose—it’s not surprising that Peter is currently President of the Goldfields Car Club. What is surprising when you visit Peter is what you see in his backyard… a bright red Massey Ferguson tractor taking pride of place.

“I've restored about five cars, sold them all, and the last project was restoring an old Massey Ferguson 35,” Peter says.

“The original plan when I bought the Fergie was to restore it and then join the Ferguson Club on a trip from the start to the end of the Murray River.

“Given Dorothy is in care now, the family talked me out of doing that. Instead, I’ve done four short weekend trips, and they're all interesting. You meet some good people, and we go over some pretty big hills, and the old Fergie just ticks along beautifully.”

Peter explains that the interest in tractors comes from the start of his career working on John Deere and Chamberlain tractors, as well as a lifetime of supporting his farming family—specifically two brothers-in-law.

“They used to call me up, ‘Come and fix the tractor, come and do this, come and cut my wood’, so I spent a lot of time out there on the farm,” Peter recalls.

Now, Peter continues to ‘pay it forward’ and often helps other people with their mechanical needs, whether with tractors, cars, or any odd jobs where Peter’s skilled hands can help those in need.

“You meet a lot of people, and you can help a lot of people. I like helping people, and that's why I do it,” Peter explains.

“There's a fella down the road, a bricklayer, with a Massey Ferguson, and he was having some troubles with it. He heard I had one, so he came along and asked questions.

“So, I went out to his place, and the tractor was a bit sad when I got to the poor girl, and I just potted along and cleaned her and fixed this and fixed that.”

And this, Peter explains, is his secret to life, wellbeing, and happiness. “I'm not very happy unless I’ve got something to do. Yes, it filled in a lot of time, but what I really enjoyed was fixing it up for him. I didn't charge him, really I just enjoyed doing it.”