Farmer Eric Ward donates land for future Timboon nursing home

Mr Ward has generously donated a parcel of his Timboon farm to the Corangamite Shire Council to build a nursing home for the community.

It fulfills a decades-long held dream for Mr Ward, who at age 90 is still active on the farm.

"I'm very happy, I only had one regret and it's that my dear wife wasn't there to pass that land over," he said.

"We've had the property over 50 years now and we donated the last bowling green to Timboon over 40 years ago now.

"This bit of land is right beside the bowling club, which I think is an ideal position for a nursing home."

His vision for the four-ace lot is for a 150-bed aged care home so that future Timboon residents can be cared for close to home.

Mr Ward has lived a long life on the land.

He left school aged 12 to become a cattle drover and has been a farmer his whole life.

"I was taken out of school in 1942 when the war was at its worst and the Japanese were blasting Darwin off the map," he said.

"Down south we didn't know what was going on but all the boys that were able to be recruited were at age 16, which left only kids on the farms.

"We were milking cows before school so by the time we got to school we were ready to go to sleep.

"One thing we did learn was how to work."

Mr Ward was born in Cobden one of nine siblings and spent 32 years farming in the Riverina before returning to the south-west.

He wants the future nursing home to be his gift back to the community that gave him so much.

"Your life is a book and one day the word 'finish' must be written, and I think I'm getting pretty close to that day," he said.

"Let it then be said of your book that it is a record of a noble purpose, generous service and work well done.

"Most of us don't get the choice in when or how we're going to die, but we all get to decide how we're going to live.

"That's the legacy we leave for those who follow us."

Timboon and District Healthcare Service chair Maryanne Puli Vogels thanked Mr Ward for his generous donation.

"On behalf of Timboon I extend my enormous gratitude for your generous donation," she said. "It's not the first you have made to the community; already many enjoy the bowling club all built on land you donated when your wife was still alive.

"This land is close to Timboon and District Health Service so that any aged care development could be serviced or developed by us.

"It's a beautiful piece of land that can be enjoyed by many.

"This provides an option for the future so those in the district have the option to remain and be cared for in the district that they love."

Corangamite Shire mayor Ruth Gstrein said it was a wonderful gesture and a terrific legacy for Timboon.

The shire will be caretakers of the land until a suitable developer is sought in the future.

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