If people in Sydney, Australia, need help with Tech questions, they stand a good chance of landing with perhaps the oldest tech supporter in the country.
Who is this man? Dean Simes is the head of “Computer Pals,” a computer club for seniors in Turramurra, on the north shore of Australia’s capital, Sydney. There, Simes teaches them how to use modern computers and smartphones, as well as various applications like WhatsApp or Microsoft Excel.
ABC Radio Sydney visited him during one of his classes. There, Simes told the reporter more about the background of his work. “When this club started [in 2000], XP was just coming out, and now we’re in Windows 11, and over the years there’s been a lot of changes. You can’t avoid having to use a computer.”
However, Simes is typically much older than those he helps with his expertise. He is also a retiree – and already 102 years old.
Age never mattered, only expertise
While the reporter was visiting, Simes was teaching an older couple – Vera and Michael Last – how to set up WhatsApp on their Android smartphone. Mrs. Last, 94 years old, used to be quite good with computers – when she was still working. Today, she feels she has lost touch.
The couple never asked about Simes’ age. “It wasn’t a criteria,” the two say. Simes’ expertise is, on the other hand, “legendary,” says Bill Soper, secretary-treasurer of the club.
All of us bow down to Dean’s knowledge of computers.
Interestingly, Simes only became interested in computers relatively late – in the 1980s, when he moved to Sydney. Before that, he worked in the mining industry. At that time, he had used computers at work, but didn’t own one himself. This changed in the ’80s when he bought a second-hand PC.
“When I first got my own hand-me-down computer, I found I was asking people for help,” he says. So Simes decided that when he retired, he would learn more about computers and help others understand them better.
Even when it comes to AI search engines, the retiree stays up to date. They are, according to him, useful but only if you ask very specific information.
If you ask a general question, you might find yourself down a rabbit hole chasing things that had nothing to do with what you want.
In January 2026, the Ku-ring-gai council, an administrative region of the city of Sydney, awarded him the title “Local Citizen of the Year.” Dean is “the ‘go-to’ person for all tech issues,” says Mayor Christine Kay.
His involvement with Computer Pals also helps him stay active. He still drives and goes to the gym. “I suppose it stops me from being a couch potato,” Simes explains. “I don’t get too much time sitting twiddling my thumbs.”
Dean Simes shows that you are never too old to engage with new technologies. The same applies to many other areas. How about Dungeons & Dragons, for example? A game master decided to play a round with her family – and grandma quickly showed she knows what to do: A grandma proves to be the toughest member in her first adventure in Dungeons & Dragons, shocking the family
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