When it comes to the Australian work ethic, there is one group that can't wait to retire and another that can't wait to go to work.
Jean Beanham is a driven career woman and what is remarkable about her ambition is that she is 92. She even puts in more than 38 hours at the family's motorcycle spare parts business, Modak Motorcycles, that was established in 1955 and has been in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, for 40 years.
Working alongside son David, Mrs Beanham commands her throne behind a desk in the middle of the old-fashioned shop that's packed to the brim with gruntingly macho exhaust pipes, pistons and gearbox parts.
You'll find her perched there Monday to Friday and a half-day on Saturday wrapping parcels to send to the country, interstate or New Zealand.
"I don't like holidays," the former scooter driver says. Working is her life and keeps her brain and body active. "When you get old, you need your brain working."
Annabelle Sacher who at 84 is the full-time manager of a clothes store. Photo: Simon Schluter
Another inspirational employee who doesn't dream of putting her feet up for endless cups of tea is Annabelle Sacher, the 84-year-old manager of the Ginger Tree clothes store in Spring Street, Melbourne.
While people a quarter of her age struggle to clock in at 9am, Mrs Sacher arrives in the city at 7am, goes for a coffee and is in the store at 7.45am to finesse the windows.
"I've always been a workaholic," she says. "I'm extremely lucky that I love my job. This job has been some of the best years of my life."
Mrs Sacher's distinctive colourful attire makes her more conspicuous as she ages. Defying atrophy with her energetic personality, she will not vanish in a cardigan of unnoticeable grey.
With her cropped hair, Mrs Sacher has been likened to Melbourne's Iris Apfel, the 94-year-old American fashion doyenne who was appointed ambassador for Australian clothes label Blue Illusion.
American style maven Iris Apfel was appointed ambassador of Australia fashion label Blue Illusion. Photo: supplied
Both women embody glamour in the golden years that defines the Advanced Style movement for women of a certain age.
Mrs Sacher, the dedicated retail maven, clocks up 28 years with the company this year and the managing director of parent company Voyager, Steven Fisher, wishes her many more returns to the store. "Annabelle can work as long as she feels fit to work," he says. "Age is not an issue for our company!"
The spotlight on the most senior of citizens in the workforce coincides with the Australian Human Rights Commission's "National Inquiry into Employment Discrimination Against Older Australians and Australians with Disability".
And the Council on the Ageing's Victorian seniors' conference on May 31, "Nice Work If You Can Get It", focuses on older Australians working into their 70s and facing age discrimination.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data for March shows that nationally, the number of people aged 65 and over who are employed is 456,493. In Victoria, the number is 114,056 and is projected to increase as the population ages.
Between 1995 and 2015, the proportion of the population aged 65-plus rose from 11.9 per cent to 15 per cent.
It is indeed rare to find centenarians in the employment data but Joan McClelland, 102, was profiled by Fairfax Media in 2011 when she drove to work for a five-day a week job running the Joshua McClelland Print Room in Collins Street.
Nowadays, she is still reporting for duty but gets driven in for a four-day a week job at the Rathdowne Galleries in North Carlton, which encompasses the print room.
Architect Neil Cherehan, 93, does not believe in a fixed retirement age. Photo: Paul Jeffers
Another tireless worker is nonagenarian Neil Clerehan, the 93-year-old architect who made the news on April 6 when a windowless concrete brick townhouse he designed in South Yarra in 1964 won heritage protection.
Wearing a smart suit to the office every day, erudite Mr Clerehan works from home then arrives at his Windsor practice at 11am five days a week. "Just do the job as well as you can," is his motto. "If you love your job, the fixed retirement age is crazy. If people don't like their job, they should be able to retire at 40."
Abe Lourie, 87, runs Creative Wigs in Swanston Street. Photo: Jason South
In the City of Melbourne, the Lord Mayor's Commendations are an honour board of business and personal longevity. Abe Lourie, 87, owns Creative Wigs in Swanston Street and last year received a platinum commendation to recognise being in business for at least 50 years.
At Evans Leather Restoration in the Royal Arcade, owner Evan Skliros, 81, celebrates 60 years in business in September and works part-time alongside daughter Jenny Velakoulis.
Another business that celebrates senior citizens on the payroll, and a sausage sizzle, is Bunnings. Across Australia, a few team members are turning 85 this year.
Bunnings managing director, Michael Schneider, said older, more experienced employees were integral to creating a business that engendered trust and confidence for customers.
"Our team spans six generations from 15 to 85, which provides fantastic learning and mentoring opportunities for everyone," he says.
It's a guaranteed workplace where you can earn your daily bread and eat a slice with a snag inside.
