When work and passion resonate, it’s hard to comprehend the notion of retirement.
But after 20 years as a volunteer at the Braybrook Community Centre, 81-year-old Neil Dillon, a founding member of the Western Region Tool Library, has decided to take a step back.
Mr Dillon’s enthusiasm about his work with the not-for-profit community service has never waned.
“People can’t believe I’m 81. It keeps me young and active,” he says.
A master builder for 30 years, Mr Dillon established the library in 1992 with the help of colleagues from a men’s support group.
After Mr Dillon and his wife moved into a unit in 1996, there was no space for him to stock his tools, so the Braybrook Community Centre and Western Region Health Centre provided an empty garage. “People saw my workshop and asked me several times how do you do this? Eventually we had the idea of setting up classes to relieve the boredom of just sitting around.”
Mr Dillon has helped people build everything from chairs and tables to dog kennels. He’s also assisted with house renovations.
He has dedicated up to six hours a day to the centre and taught woodwork to dozens of eager students.
Driven, passionate, hard working and engaged with the community, Mr Dillon is a man whose values have never faded with age.
“The people who taught me went out of their way to help.”
Born in Brunswick, his childhood was a difficult one. One of four children, like many families during the Great Depression they struggled to make ends meet. With his father out of work, his parents made the agonising decision to send the then eight-year-old to the former St Vincents Orphanage in South Melbourne.
“Initially I felt homesick, but I did have 240 playmates,” Mr Dillon says.
After six years at the orphanage, he dropped out of school and embarked on a career.
“My mate got a job as a carpenter and his boss asked whether I’d like to work alongside him,” he says.
Married with six children and 18 grandchildren, of Mr Dillon’s three sons, two became plumbers while one followed in his father’s footsteps.
The Werribee resident remains involved at his local Men’s Shed. While officially retired, he continues to act as an advisor to the Braybrook tool library.
