What do you do when part of your Retirement Village neighbour’s skylight flies off during a cyclone? You replace it with a Bunnings umbrella, of course!
When Cyclone Alfred loomed large on the south-east Queensland coast, TriCare Compton Gardens Retirement Village resident, Adrian De-Heer, was not expecting to rise to the status of Aspley in Brisbane hero, but that is what played out over the weekend of cyclonic weather.
Photo: Ingrid & Adrian on holiday
Meet Adrian De-Heer
Adrian, 69 years-young, lives with his wife Ingrid at TriCare Compton Gardens Retirement Community and they love it!
“TriCare Compton Gardens in Aspley, Brisbane is like a Dutch village from my childhood—compact (but adequate) homes, close to everywhere and everything, convenient, near the bus-stop, with no-one ever complaining,” Adrian said.
“Indeed, the people are very friendly!”
“We always said we would never live in one of those villages where the homes are too big for our life stage—we want to travel overseas and visit our children and grandchildren, not worry about our house needing more work.”
Adrian left the Netherlands aged 26 with his wife, chasing their desire for warmth and the palm trees of the South Pacific.
“We left our Dutch village and emigrated without any real knowledge of what to expect.
We were running from the Cold War, the freezing weather, and economic downturn,” he said.
Adrian’s search first led to New Zealand—a country with temperate weather rather than heat, and far fewer tropical palm trees than he was expecting!
“We emigrated to New Zealand and found ourselves bunking in with another Dutch couple in a caravan in April at Hawke’s Bay and freezing every night,” Adrian said.
“We eventually found what we wanted in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia instead of New Zealand! But back then, there was no internet to search things up.”
Home At Last
Adrian and Ingrid finally settled in sunny, warm and tropical Brisbane and raised three children while owning and running a printing business which was sold 15 years ago.
“We had to be handy as well as resourceful in our printing business,” Adrian said.
“Running a business requires you have to get very good at finding fixes. Machines break down, parts break, and you have to find a way to fix them within your means.”
“I would say it kept me sharp and resourceful after all these years!”
Cyclone Alfred Blows In
As Cyclone Alfred approached the south-east Queensland coast the TriCare Compton Gardens Retirement Village in Aspley Brisbane experienced some strong wind gusts.
When a particularly strong gust blew his neighbour, Michael’s fixed skylight right off, Adrian was able to come to the rescue!
“With a big hole in his roof, Michael was worried about internal water damage,” Adrian said.
He’d called the SES (State Emergency Service) but many people were needing SES assistance at that time.
With the cyclone looming closer the rain increased and Michael’s buckets and towels could not capture the water pouring inside.
Michael gave me a call to see if I could help and I thought, I have just the thing!”
Adrian then armed himself with a good ole’ Bunnings umbrella, braved the crazy winds and rain to reach Michael’s home and climbed a ladder to inspect the damage.
“Sure enough, the umbrella fit perfectly between the broken part of the skylight and was successful in keeping the rain out of Michael’s home,” Adrian said.
A Humble Hero
Adrian certainly didn’t expect to become a TriCare hero but he is chuffed that his quick thinking was able to save Michael’s cherished home in the retirement village from flooding!
He admitted at the time he didn’t think much of the heroic act.
“I was a little overwhelmed by the reaction—I know anyone else in our Village would have done the same to help out,” he said.
“I’m just glad that the Bunnings umbrella did its job until the SES team arrived to fix the roof.”
The Power of Community at Compton Gardens Retirement Living Village
A sense of community and helping others are important values for Adrian. It was a key factor in why he and Ingrid chose to move to the TriCare’s Retirement Living Community at Aspley village 18 months ago.
“Living at TriCare Compton Gardens Retirement Community has been one of the best decisions we’ve made. From the moment we moved in, we felt embraced by the warm and welcoming community that truly feels like home, the fellowship is wonderful,” said Adrian.
“There are so many positives to retirement living—being part of a greater community and living with like-minded people is such a benefit.”
One of the standout features at Compton Gardens Retirement Living Community is the bustling social calendar and neighbourhood.
“There’s always something happening—from happy hours and games evenings to movie nights and monthly concerts featuring jazz bands and local school choirs.
“These events provide wonderful opportunities to connect with fellow residents and build lasting friendships. We’re certainly having a great time here,” said Adrian.
“From aqua aerobics classes to tai chi sessions, it’s great to have such a wide range of activities to help us maintain our health and independence… and keep us busy!”
However, one of Adrian’s favourite things to do these days is monitoring the weather and keeping an umbrella handy in case of an emergency!
Want to know more about TriCare Compton Gardens Retirement Village click here or call 07 3263 2788. To find out more about all our villages and their locations click below.
