Childers residents Margaret and Barry Cochrane have been awarded Senior Citizen of the Year at the 2025 Bundaberg Region Australia Day Awards.
Although the award is not usually given to couples, the judging panel made an exception to honour Margaret and Barry who have dedicated themselves to charitable and voluntary work in their community for more than ten years.
Here’s what they had to say about the award:
How does it feel to be recognised by your community?
Honoured, shocked, very humbled.
We didn’t expect this at all.
It was a bit of a shock, we’re very proud through.
Extremely proud because we have a small community, an active community and we want to encourage more volunteers to do things.
It’s important, it keeps the community going and because Childers is known for its volunteer community.
How does it feel to be doing it together?
Wonderful, we volunteer separately at different places, but we do a lot of things together.
Margaret is at the aged care, and I’m at the police.
We’re involved at the RSL, with commemoration committees and doing veteran services together.
What drives you to keep making a difference in your community?
We’ve always been community-minded and our parents were community-minded and we belong in the community.
It’s our duty to keep the community going and blossoming.
Why do you think you were nominated?
Margaret: I’ve been volunteering at the aged care facility for 14 years and I’m also on the board for that, we’re very active in our church as well.
Barry: This will be my 15th year with the police volunteering, with the RSL and the church.
We’ve only been in Childers 14 and a half years and we volunteered the first day we got there.
If we want to live in the community, we need to be part of it and give back to it.
Read more about the Australia Day Award winners here.
