Ryman Healthcare has named a retirement village and aged care complex under construction at Highett after late entertainer Bert Newton.

More than 200 people attended a launch event for the facility last week.

Bert’s wife Patti (pictured, top) was amongst them.

“We’re really thrilled to have this honour of naming the village after Bert, especially on Graham Rd,” she said, referencing Mr Newton’s successful working relationship with Graham Kennedy.

“Bert was a people person; he loved to make people happy and the quality of this beautiful village will do that,” the entertainer added.

“He never wanted to be forgotten so now with the [Most Popular Presenter] Logie named in his honour and this village, he’s doing well”.

The Bert Newton Retirement Village is set to open next year.

Tradition continues

At 32-40 Graham Road, the Highett complex will, like all Ryman facilities, combine serviced apartments for independent living with an aged care centre.

It is also designed with a beauty salon, bowling green, café, chapel, cinema, gym and pool.

About 230 people are expected to live there (story continues below).

Ryman said it has been branding villages after “exceptional people” for more than 30 years.

Other Melbourne complexes are named after Weary Dunlop, Nellie Melba and Charles ‘Chas’ Brownlow.

“First and foremost, this tradition is about honouring the contribution of that person and doing what we can to help preserve their legacy,” Ryman Healthcare Victorian sales and community relations manager, Debra Richardson, added.

“But it’s also about creating a unique identity for that village,” according to the executive.

“The village community becomes coloured by their character and imbued with the values that set that person apart,” she said.

“It’s an incredible honour to name our Highett village after one of the greats of Australian entertainment”.

A Ryman spokesperson added Mr Newton hosted the Logies 19 times.

“A quadruple Gold Logie winner and Logie Hall of Fame inductee, Bert Newton was a true pioneer of television and radio, filling the airwaves and screens of millions of Australian homes for more than half a century,” they said.

“He first captured the imagination of Australians while working in radio broadcasting, primarily as an announcer, before becoming a star of television during its inception in 1956”