He’s also 95 years old and proves age is no barrier to learning new skills and having fun. 

Tim Carlton was named Warrnambool Senior of the Year on Wednesday afternoon, 56 years after Sir Fletcher Jones brought him to the city as his chief industrial engineer. 

He became involved with his children’s schools and their interests, including helping to build the Brucknell Scout Camp. He learned to use a jackhammer while volunteering to build  Warrnambool’s swimming pool and was involved in replacing kilometres of fencing after the tragic Ash Wednesday fires in 1983.

“I still have the marks in my leg where the barbed wire cut me,” Mr Carlton said of his Ash Wednesday experience. 

“I was working for Singer in Sydney and when my position was made redundant Sir Fletcher head-hunted me. I’ve not regretted moving here. 

“He was my mentor and kick-started my involvement with the community.” 

Mr Carlton is also a life member of the Warrnambool Lions Club, the Probus Club and the Triton Woodworkers and is a regular helper at the Fun4Kids Festival. 

At the moment he is working with the Fletcher Jones – Stories from our Communities project, sharing stories, documenting other people’s stories, and encouraging others to come along and follow up on snippets of information.

Warrnambool City Council volunteer development officer Kay Porter said his “sheer helpfulness” was infectious.

“He is so community minded. You can tell by the way he talks about his volunteer work that he just loves helping people however he can,” she said.

“The sparkle in his eye when he talks about technology is amazing. He is at his happiest when either working on or helping people with computers. Tim is the oldest winner we’ve had but he is the youngest at heart.”