NSW Senior Australian of the Year

The passing of his father at the age of 59 steered Professor Henry Brodaty onto a new path, directing him on the road to becoming the NSW Senior of the Year.

His father, Jacob, had suffered from dementia for seven years, during which Henry Brodaty studied the disease.

Henry Brodaty arrived in Sydney in 1948 when he was only one year old. He was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany with Polish parents who had survived the Holocaust.

With the resilience and determination shown by so many of Jewish refugees from war-torn Europe, the Brodaty family enjoyed the pride of their son becoming a Professor of Old Age Psychiatry in 1990 at the age of 43.

He said: “We came here penniless, and we lived in one room, three of us, in Kings Cross till I was seven.

It was like a boarding house, and we didn’t even have our own bathroom and kitchen.

It was pretty grim looking back on it, but I didn’t know any better in those days, and I was only seven when we managed to secure a rent-controlled flat in Bondi.

For a refugee immigrant to be given an honour like this, an Australian of the Year Award, is really special.”

Following his father’s death, Henry Brodaty became involved in a support group for family carers as a way to cope with his grief. He found his work with community self-help groups and not-for-profits to be the most rewarding part of his career.

In 1982, he played a pivotal role in establishing Dementia Australia in New South Wales.

Alzheimer’s Disease was named after Dr Alzheimer in 1906.

Henry Brodaty explained: “It was thought to be just a rare disease occurring before the age of 65, and people after 65 with dementia were diagnosed with senile dementia.”

In 2002, the Alzheimer’s Association was established in Washington, with involvement from Australia, Canada, Scotland, and the US. Today, over 120 countries are involved.

Earlier this year, Henry delivered an address at the televised National Press Club, which brought the challenges faced by those with dementia to a national audience.

After receiving the award, Henry Brodaty told J-Wire: “It gives me a platform to advocate for the brain health promotion programme we need to have in Australia, because we know there’s much we can do to reduce the risk of dementia or delay the onset.

It also gives me a platform to advocate for better services for people with dementia and a platform for better funding for dementia research.”

He added: “Australia did such wonderful work with HIV, with skin cancer, with smoking. Let’s do it for brain health. We need to slip, slap, slop, slap, of brain health to try and prevent dementia, and we can do it.”

On January 25, Henry will stand alongside seven other Senior Australians from other states and the NT for the announcement of the national Senior Australian of the Year.

Henry added: “If I’m the winner, then the platforms I mentioned will be mentioned in my two and a half minutes address.”

In 2000, Henry Brodaty was awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), in recognition of his significant contributions to the field of dementia care, research, and advocacy.​

In 2016, he won the $250,000 Ryman Prize for his work in combating dementia.

Michele Goldman, CEO of The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, told J-Wire: “Professor Henry Brodaty’s outstanding contributions to dementia research, care and advocacy have transformed many lives.

This recognition as NSW Senior Australian of the Year is a fitting tribute to a career dedicated to tackling one of the most serious and distressing diseases facing Australians.