Brian Mackander OAM, long-serving Warrigal Volunteer, original Board Member and Chairperson, has passed away.

Brian was an integral member of the original 1967 Warrigal Board of Directors and was present for the very first board meeting on September 27 1967, which was responsible for founding Warrigal and bringing an aged care service to the Illawarra. He served on the Warrigal Board from 1967 – 1976, then returned to fill the role of Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Board from 1988 – 1996.

Brian was a strong advocate for older people in his community, and believed they should be given the care and support they deserve and need. Because of his work supporting this, he was awarded an Order of Australia in 1994 for Community Services.

As a result of his hard work and dedication to his community, he was also awarded life memberships in five different organisations.

When reminiscing about his achievements at Warrigal, Brian once said “I’m very proud of my time with Warrigal. We would take our grandchildren up to Warrigal or the honour board at the Council Chambers. There are 39 people who have their name on the honour board, most of them have passed away, but when you show your grandchildren they recognise their grandfather in the limelight – it’s something for them to remember you by and it gives them something they think they can achieve.”

Of Brian’s passing, Warrigal CEO Mark Sewell said “We are very sad to hear of the passing of one of our great, long-serving members, Brian Mackander. Brian was a driving force behind establishing what Warrigal is today, and we will continue to honour that by serving the older people in our community.”

Warrigal continues the legacy of Brian and all founding Warrigal Board Members in their mission to support older people to live great lives, and to advocate for those in our community who can’t. Like Brian, Warrigal believes all older people should receive the care they need and deserve.