Bert Martin: ‘a real philanthropist’
The cofounder of National Seniors Australia was a family man and entrepreneur on a mission to help others.
Celebrating 50 Years, 50 Lives
In the lead-up to National Seniors Australia’s 50th anniversary in 2026, Connect is sharing the stories of 50 people who have made contributions to the organisation over those years.
We begin with a look at the life and legacy of the man who, with Everald Compton, founded NSA.
Even before he set up the organisation that would become National Seniors, Bert Martin was known as a man who could get things done.
He had a busy life, from running the family farm and country store in Cooroy, 22 kilometres west of Noosa, at the age of 14, to senior roles in Rotary, picking up an honorary masters degree and an Order of the British Empire medal along the way.
It was the success of his family electrical retail business, T.H. Martin, and other private ventures that allowed Bert to dedicate himself to helping others, young and old.
Through Rotary and personal fundraising, he helped establish International House, a residential college for students from around the world at the University of Queensland, in 1965.
A decade after that came Later Years, a forerunner organisation to National Seniors.
Bert’s son-in-law, Roy Moore, remembers him fondly.
“He was a quiet man. He didn’t say a lot; he just sat there and listened,” Bert said. “He was a great achiever. He did lots of things for lots of people.
“He didn’t like politicians that much. He didn’t think any of them did anything.”
That sense that there was more to be done for older Australians than was being achieved in Parliament informed Bert’s decision to participate in the creation of the organisation that became National Seniors.
Time spent on the Australian Council of the Ageing convinced him that more could be achieved outside of government than within it.
With that in mind, he joined forces with Everald Compton and others, and Later Years was established in Brisbane in 1976.
Dame Enid Lyons, the first woman elected to Federal Parliament, was invited to speak at the Later Years launch at the Brisbane Park Royal Hotel, and early board members included former senators Dame Annabelle Rankin and Condon Byrne.
But it was everyday Australians over 50 who made up the bulk of the membership. Under Bert and Everald’s stewardship, the organisation had gained 1,800 members by the end of its first month and 5,000 by the end of the first year.
In 1991, Later Years merged with a smaller Sydney-based group, Mature Australia, and National Seniors Australia was born. It now has about 65,000 members Australia-wide.
Roy and his late wife, Bert’s daughter Muriel, were enthusiastic members who travelled around the country to attend meetings.
But their fondest memories were of big family gatherings, in Brisbane and at Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast.
To Roy, Bert was a man with a great sense of humour who was always reading or learning new things by listening to the radio and watching television.
That inquisitive nature and generous spirit also impressed others who met Bert.
Kevin Ryan, a retired insurance broker who worked with Later Years, said Bert was “a terrific bloke”.
“He was ahead of his time – a real philanthropist. He had a depth of understanding of other people who were not so well off.”
Bert lived his last years at Compton Gardens retirement village, named after his friend and National Seniors cofounder Everald Compton. He died in the mid-1990s, but his legacy continues.
As National Seniors eulogised, “Bert became known throughout his life primarily as a person who ‘got things done’, a quality that benefited those he helped enormously.
“He was also noted for his enormous energy, his sense of humour, and his commitment to the many projects he undertook.”
