Farmer Ken Lloyd loves being woken by the sounds of the cattle and the early morning chorus of the birds. 

They act as an alarm clock for his first duty of the day – heading down in his ute to the paddocks of his Greta beef farm to inspect the cattle and his horses, his beloved kelpie dogs Winks and Scamper coming along for the ride. “They sit in front with me of course!” he explains. “They’re my mates.” 

The gum trees and open fields still hold a special magic for him, and he barks with laughter at the thought of ever leaving his sprawling farm where he’s lived for the past 25 years. 

“Me – live in town? I wouldn’t know what to do with myself, it would drive me bloody mad,” Ken exclaims. “The cars, the noise and all the people … just horrible!” 

Victorian Seniors Month is an opportunity to celebrate older people, like Ken, who in their own unique ways live up to the theme of ‘Connect. Create. Celebrate.’ Through living on the land, Ken has achieved a life of happiness, purpose and connection to nature and to his local farming community. 

Although he is 87 years old, early morning starts are still second nature to Ken who has country-living in his DNA. He left school at the age of 14 and started working as a farm hand, picking hops and fruit and milking cows.  “That taught me more about life than any book learning could,” he says.  

Ken then worked as a professional sheep shearer for 20 years, with a team working for him as they went from station to station. “It’s hard yakka, I can tell you,” he states. “It takes about two or three minutes to shear a sheep, and we’d each do about 200 a day. There was no air-conditioning, of course, and in the heat of summer we’d sleep outside under the stars.” 

Ken’s wife passed away nine years ago and his son Ned and daughter-in-law Michelle, live on the property. Ned, who manages the farm, describes Ken as his “absolute hero”.  

“I had a heart attack a few years ago and I never thought I’d reach this bloody age,” laughs Ken. “But here I am.  I’m absolutely determined to carry on living here for the rest of my life.” 

And he can – thanks to accessing the services he needs through a government-funded Home Care Package through Uniting AgeWell. He’s been working closely with his Care Advisor Katina (Tina) Manousaki, who he describes as “marvellous.” 

She organised for Ken to wear a personal alarm, in case he falls and urgently needs help and arranged for Ken to be assessed by an occupational therapist, resulting in the lounge room carpet, which was considered a tripping hazard with all its bumps and ripples, being replaced with floating floorboards. He also gets domestic help around the house. The house is spotless and Ken declares the floorboards “a triumph.” 

 “Tina has done a great job,” says Ken. “Nothing is too much trouble for her. I know if I need anything I just have to phone her and she’ll be here to help, or I drop into the office in Wangaratta.” 

He’s also enjoying having the time to read, watch a bit of telly and spend time with his daughter and her family who live nearby. 

Sunsets still hold magic for him.  He sits on his verandah, watching out across the paddocks and gum trees, with a drink in his hand and the dogs at his feet.  “I breathe it all in and think, ‘Yup, I’ve had my ups and my downs, but I’ve had a pretty good life!”