AFTER working as a nursing assistant for 26 years and a spell up north catering, Maureen Stevens could have taken a well-deserved rest.

But the Success resident has spent her retirement years volunteering in the local community, including the Cockburn Seniors Centre, where she spends four days a week on the front desk or in the cafe.

Her efforts were recently recognised by Cockburn council,  naming her 2024 Senior Citizen of the Year.

“I volunteer because I want to help people anyway I can,” Stevens says.

“So many older residents are lonely due to different circumstances. Giving them time helps – a cup of tea and a chat can make a difference.

“Put a smile on their face and it  makes them feel better.”

• Maureen Stevens (far right) and Mackinlee Tibbits get their Citizen Awards from Cockburn mayor Logan Howlett (middle).

With a background in health and safety, Stevens also helps with safety inspections of the Centre and organises displays for special occasions.

After retiring in 2016, she joined the City of Cockburn Age-friendly Reference Group, which meets regularly to improve seniors’ services in the community. 

“I always wanted to volunteer in my early years, but with working and bringing up a family, I didn’t have the time,” Stevens says.

“I am fortunate to volunteer – you meet old friends and make new ones.

“Cockburn residents have a great Seniors Centre.”

Meanwhile, Paul Ennis was named Perth Senior Citizen of the Year for diligently maintaining the city’s heritage-listed Town Hall clock for six decades.

The Ennis family looked after the Perth Town Hall clock for more than 100 years and Paul was the last in the family line to service it.

As a young boy Ennis would accompany his dad when he was working on the clock, before taking on maintenance duties as a teenager in the late 1960s. 

The family were all skilled watchmakers back in the day and made chronometers for ships, clocks for the department of civil aviation, and looked after most of the big clocks in the state.

The Perth Town Hall clock was built by London clockmakers Thwaites and Reed and the three bells also came from London. 

When fixing the clock, Ennis tried to keep as many of the original parts as possible.

He was amazed by their durability, including a giant suspension spring which had been in-use for more than 50 years.