A sister city relationship, according to its website, aims to provide "a forum for cultural, economic and educational interchange between communities and to encourage friendship, co-operation and understanding to improve peaceful co-existence".

For Mr Dique, contributing to community and cultural groups, supporting charitable causes and fostering friendships particularly amongst youth has been a personal mission of his in retirement, and a result of his multicultural upbringing.

Since settling in 2009 in Shoal Bay with wife Carol - the couple have four children and 11 grandchildren - Mr Dique has voluntarily lent his knowledge and expertise to a wide range of community, environmental and cultural groups, in addition to chairing the Port Stephens Sister Cities Association.

An active environmentalist, he first joined Eco-Network Port Stephens, where he remains as its treasurer, not long after arriving in the local government area following a chance meeting with its former leader, Darrell Dawson.

Other organisations to benefit from Mr Dique's worldly experience include Shoal Bay Community Association, two Mambo-Wanda wetlands conservation groups, Tomaree Heritage Headland Group, Tomaree Museum Association and Climate Action Port Stephens.

How does he maintain his active pace at age 77 you ask?

"I keep fit by walking with the Bay's Hash House Harriers and swim with the Shoal Bay beach social group," he said.

Nigel Dique was born in Meerut, India - "I am proud of my Anglo-Indian heritage" - in 1944 and the family migrated to Brisbane four years later.

His father John was a doctor and his mother Doreen a journalist.

"I have memories of a happy childhood in Brisbane," he said.

"I enjoyed writing and I guess with my mother's influence I decided to follow her footsteps into journalism."

He started in television before landing a job with the influential Courier Mail as a sports writer, primarily rugby league.

"I moved to Sydney to join the Telegraph in 1969 and stayed until it was taken over by News Limited."

Mr Dique worked under both Frank and Kerry Packer and Ita Buttrose before moving to The Australian newspaper (Brisbane edition), where he would eventually become the national broadsheet's chief of staff and news editor.

"By 1979 it was time to get out of journalism so I started up my own public relations company until retirement in 2008."

Today he can speak three languages (English, French and Japanese) and he is often called upon by local community groups for his skills as a wordsmith to write press/media releases and make written submissions.

But it his work with Sister Cities, a worldwide organisation connecting today's youth, which excites him most.

"I liken the movement to diplomacy at the grassroots level, which I think is most important for our young people to grasp, particularly when you have the turmoil that is going on around the world today," Mr Dique said.

The pandemic, which put a halt to many of the exchanges planned, provided new challenges and through the ideas of a combination of young minds and older heads Mr Dique said Port Stephens had managed to run three important activities in 2021.

"The first was the 'Incredible by Nature' photographic competition for students, which had the support of Destination Port Stephens. It challenged local students to showcase their work and generated valuable publicity for both DPS and Sister Cities," he said.

"We also managed to run the Bellingham cross-cultural filmmaking workshop for students aged 13 to 18, drawing participants from not only port Stephens but other its sister cities Vaasa (Finland), Tateyama. Sophia Lethbridge from St Philips attended and was full of praise for the event.

"Finally there was the social media student exchange in August where Yoshinori Hayatoh, my counterpart on the Yugawara International Exchange Association, used a video letter to raise the idea of a social media-based cultural exchange with Port Stephens students from St Philips."

Mr Dique is passionate about climate change and leaving a sustainable future for younger generations to enjoy. He often joins his local landcare volunteers on working bees.

"We have a fantastic community with wonderful people and a beautiful place to live. I get satisfaction in knowing that I can contribute to supporting a sustainable future ... I get a kick out of applying my skills in assisting in environmental advocacy. It gives me a feeling of belonging and I get enjoyment from meeting interesting friends along the way."