As James Milson celebrates its 50th anniversary, Michael O’Dea reflects on his instrumental role in establishing the retirement village
Michael O’Dea `was a pivotal figure in the founding of James Milson Village back in 1974, and today is still making his mark on the North Shore community.
“My parents were certainly community- minded, but when I went to school at (St Ignatius) Riverview they definitely implanted the idea that to whom much is given, significant contribution is required in return,” says Michael.
And give he certainly has. At 85, Michael is still working part-time as a lawyer, offering pro-bono services to those referred to him through the Cancer Council. The Waverton resident and former North Sydney mayor is patron of James Milson on Clark Road, having played a significant role in establishing the first retirement village built by a local government in NSW.
It was while he was campaigning to be elected to North Sydney Council in the late 1960s that Michael recognised a need in the community. “(There were) a lot of home units in the area where I was campaigning,” he recalls. “I was struck (by the fact that) often the only communication people had with their neighbour was to hear doors opening and shutting in the morning and the same in the evening. And I just thought, ‘How terrible is that? That’s the life of community these people have’.”
Shortly after being elected to council in 1969, Michael went to a committee meeting ‘to see about establishing a facility for aged people to live in, in the municipality’. It had been prompted by the Federal Government and soon Michael was chairman. The idea, he says, was to provide a combination of independent living units for ‘people to have better community involvement,’ and hostel units, for those who needed meals, support and a minor amount of nursing care.
Michael recalls the challenge of finding an appropriate site for the village, with council already owning one-third of the Clark Road site, and the Department of Main Roads owning the remainder. After much negotiation around the construction of the Warringah Expressway, which forced many residents to give up their homes, the Commissioner for Main Roads agreed to give council half of their interest in the site. Council later bought the remaining third interest, and so construction began.
The official opening of JMV in 1974
“It was great to get that done,” Michael says. “It was near to transport, it was near to a variety of shops. It was a great location for people who liked to live in North Sydney.”
It opened on 2 June, 1974, and drew a crowd of 600 people, with around 200 of them already residents of the newly built village. John Howard, the then newly elected Bennelong MP attended – back when the electorate incorporated North Sydney – as did Roden Cutler, the then governor of NSW.
Now as James Milson prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in September, Michael, who was honoured with an Order of Australia medal in 1992 for his services to aged care, is proud of the village and the quality care it provides. The North Sydney facility has expanded greatly since 1974 and there is now a second location in Woolwich, with both offering aged, dementia, palliative and respite care as well as independent living.
“I do remember the governor (Roden Cutler) saying, ‘It’s great that you built this place. The greater challenge coming up is to run it right, to the satisfaction of your residents.’ And that’s quite correct. That place has really succeeded due to the wonderful staff we’ve had,” Michael reflects.
“It’s been a privilege to be involved.”
James Milson will host a community-wide celebration on Sunday 22 September from 12pm to 3pm, including live entertainment, food stalls and a memorabilia display.