Dot’s love for the Illawarra has meant a lifetime of giving to the community. Photos: Supplied.
Few people embody the spirit of community in the Illawarra quite like Dorothy “Dot” Hennessy OAM.
From working in her father’s Port Kembla corner store to founding statewide emergency service awards and this month being recognised by Rotary International with a 2025 Service Above Self Award, her life has been a masterclass in service, strength, and the quiet power of simply saying “yes” when someone needs help.
Growing up in “Kembla” (now Port Kembla), and shaped by parents who were “always community people”, Dot learned early that community isn’t just a word — it’s a way of life.
“In those days, you were part of a community because you didn’t have the distractions and if you didn’t connect, well, you were pretty lonely,” she said.
“Dad had the corner store and I grew up in that.
“Then I used to go to the mines and do the canteens for them before I went to school and work.
“In those days, if your dad had a business, you had to work in it, because they couldn’t afford to pay wages.”
By the time she started helping her dad, around Year 3, she’d already missed a year of school from having her leg in a calliper due to a dislocated hip that saw her spend two months on her stomach in hospital.
It was a moment that also shaped her nature of always “doing”.
She said the injury stemmed from a national fitness camp she was attending through school.
“I was a bit on the chubby side and I did the splits, and the hip went undetected for two years,” she said.
“Along with those things like volunteering and the community side, a lot of what I do also came from the fact I was determined I was going to walk.
“Those things are the things that made me who I am in terms of the work and how I never stop.”
Pair that with an inspiring mother, who studied theology and became a deaconess in the Anglican Church in the Newtown area.
Dot said her mother was in the Australian College of Theology class of 1930, topping her Associate in Theology class for men and women.
“My mother was always an inspiration to me and an amazing person,” she said.
Leaving school at 15, Dot’s early career spanned switchboard jobs, to working in the police department during two significant Wollongong murder cases in 1966, which she did the scientific work on.
She also spent 50 years in vocational education and training, from teaching, to principal, and head of state training services throughout NSW, before retiring in 2000.
However, it’s her volunteer work in organisations like Rotary and PCYC that truly defines her legacy.
During her time as a teacher at Taree, she was introduced to Rotary by the then principal.
‘I said, ‘Oh, I want to join this’ and he said, ‘You can’t, because you’re female,’” she said.
“When we were finally allowed to join in 1989, I couldn’t find a club up there.
“When I came down here [to Wollongong], I was able to find Illawarra Sunrise, which worked for me because I could go before I went to work.”
Dot’s since been part of four Rotary clubs, was the first female president of the Rotary Club of Wollongong, and is now president of the Sydney Cove Satellite Club.
This month, she was recognised by Rotary International as a 2025 recipient of the Service Above Self Award, which recognises members who fully embody its primary motto and make it a way of life.
It was through Rotary she initiated the state Rotary Inspirational Women Awards, and founded the Pride of Illawarra Emergency Services Awards, now Rotary NSW Emergency Services Community Awards (RESCA), recognising unsung heroes across emergency services.
“When I came back here, the Rotary Club of Sydney had started the police awards,” she said.
“I said to the district governor at the time, ‘Why only the police? What about the other agencies?’”
While the first awards were low key, by the second year she had every commissioner at the awards function.
“The comment was made that you rarely ever get all seven commissioners in one place,” she said.
Dot said initially the committee set itself three goals – starting the post traumatic stress disorder scholarship, sending a vocational training team to a developing country in the Asia Pacific, and becoming statewide.
They achieved all three.
Now, the awards also feature the Dorothy Hennessy OAM Emergency Service Youth Scholarship.
As a Rotarian, she’s been involved in PCYC for more than 30 years (which Rotary initiated 88 years ago) including being a PCYC NSW board member which was “probably one of the special things I’ve done”.
Now a life member, her latest PCYC project is encouraging young people to join Windeward Bound, a program that develops leadership skills through sailing expeditions.
Describing PCYC as “life-changing for young people”, she said in a perfect world they would be open 24/7, “because kids don’t need us nine to five, they need us five to nine”.
From her more than 50 years in education, she’s also had a 30-year involvement with trades and skills competition WorldSkills and was actively involved in the Illawarra Vocational Training Committee and its State Training Awards.
A scholarship was announced in her name, which remains despite the awards returning to a statewide award this year.
Now a great grandmother, Dot is deliberately stepping back to make room for the next generation.
“People need to have the opportunities I’ve had. I want other people to have a go,” she said.
“I’ve been able to go out and make it happen, so I’m very fortunate to be able to do what I do.”
She said a large part of that was thanks to the support of husband Bob, who together had seen the world through her community work.
“I mean, the places we’ve visited – 11 conventions we’ve been to and nine of them were overseas,” she said.
“We were always able to put a holiday around those nine conventions and so that meant we were able to see a lot of the world.”
However, with health challenges making travel harder, she feels those opportunities are there for others.
Her message is clear: community service isn’t about recognition, but about making a genuine difference.
“People ask me to do things, and I do it where I can,” she said.
“That’s just what I do.”
