An 84-year-old doctor who has spent more than six decades caring for patients in some of Australia’s most remote communities has been named the 2027 NSW Senior Australian of the Year.
David Cooke combined his two passions, medicine and aviation, through the Royal Flying Doctor Service, travelling across isolated parts of the Northern Territory and North Queensland to treat patients.
He even learned to parachute so he could reach people in locations that were difficult to access.
“When I started … I was covering an area about the size of Texas … 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Dr Cooke said.
“People loved you for what you did, that you were enabling them to work out in the country knowing that someone would to rescue you.”
Dr Cooke has lived in Port Macquarie since 1988 and continues to work as a GP on the Mid North Coast and in South West Rocks.
“People ask why I still practice medicine at 85. I say because I love it,” he said.
Marine scientist and science communicator Vanessa Pirotta was named the 2027 NSW Australian of the Year for her work in marine research and conservation.
Dr Pirotta has pioneered the use of drones to collect whale mucus samples from their blowholes, helping researchers assess the animals’ health. She also founded Wild Sydney Harbour, a citizen science project encouraging people to report sightings of marine wildlife.
Her work includes supporting women in STEAM careers and collaborating with the Gamay Rangers, an Indigenous ranger group based at Botany Bay, to monitor marine populations.
“We need to understand our blue backyard better,” Dr Pirotta said.
“I’m just sharing knowledge … I want people to feel empowered.”
Growing up on a farm in Murrumbateman, near Canberra, Dr Pirotta said films such as Free Willy and David Attenborough documentaries inspired her interest in marine science.
Danny Schouten, founder of Community Shark Bite Kits, was named NSW Young Australian of the Year.
The kits contain tourniquets, compression bandages, gloves and instructions for treating serious bleeding. They are now installed at more than 350 beaches across Australia.
Schouten developed the kits after seeing a friend survive a shark attack when a bystander used a dog lead as a makeshift tourniquet. Their value was highlighted after the shark attack at Coogee Beach in June, when survivor Leah Stewart became the first person to be saved using one.
“I’m so glad that kit was there to be used that day,” Schouten said. “I never wanted any of them to be used.”
The full-time teacher hopes to see the kits available at all 20,000 beaches across the country.
“My passion is just giving back and doing something I can do to hopefully save some lives,” he said.
The NSW Local Hero award went to Jill Ashley and Paul ‘Fatty’ Ireland, founders of youth charity Shoretrack, supporting young people who have disengaged from education or employment in the Nambucca Valley through hands-on learning, mentoring and trade-based training.
Other nominees for the NSW Australian of the Year award included Newcastle domestic violence campaigner Tabitha Acret, Parkinson’s disease campaigner Clyde Campbell and disability advocate Dwayne Fernandes.
The NSW recipients will join those from other states and territories as finalists for the national awards, which will be announced in Canberra on January 25, 2027.
Western Australia has already announced its 2027 recipients, including telehealth innovator Esther Oh and long-serving Lifeline volunteer Tina Baldwin, who has answered more than 33,000 calls from people in distress.
South Australia’s recipients are due to be announced on November 5, followed by the Northern Territory on November 9, the ACT on November 11, Victoria on November 12, Tasmania on November 13 and Queensland on November 16.
Image: Instagram/ Salty Dingo
