He and his wife Pauline were at My Fair Lady and were seated at the back of the theatre.

Mr McLennan walked up the several steps, but walking down with no railing to support him was more difficult.

He lost his balance and fell.

Despite some heavy bruising, Mr McLennan did not suffer any injuries, “except to my dignity,” he said.

The incident did rattle his confidence, however.

“We kept away from places for a while and stopped going out after dark,” he said.

“I’m 81, not 18 any more. “It made me think about where I go to and what I am.”

Mr McLennan counts himself lucky that his fall didn’t result in more devastating consequences, as in the case of an acquaintance who fell and broke both her legs, leading to her premature death.

The McLennans had a hospital social worker visit their home to tell them what steps they could take to avoid nasty falls.

They also had railings installed in the bathroom and have a handbook from the hospital about keeping their home fall-risk-free.

Though they think more could be done by businesses, council and community to provide rails or fix footpaths, ultimately they said the individual had to be aware of the dangers.

“As you get older, you do have to be more aware of these things.” More than a third of people over the age of 65 – amounting to 1 million older Australians – fall at least once every year.

The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) has warned that number could climb to 2.7 million, which would almost treble the annual health bill from falls to $1.4 billion if fall rates are not reduced.

The APA says falls can result in injury, loss of confidence, poor activity levels and reduced participation, but group exercise can help prevent falls.