Maudie celebrates 100 years, a great life, with an old friend
Maudie, centre, celebrated with family and friends, including Noelene (holding balloons). A group of 120 prep students and their teachers from The Good Samaritan College at Bli Bli sang “Happy Birthday” to her.
Maudie received greetings and cards from friends and Local MP Ted O’Brien, the PM Scott Morrison, the Governor General and the Queen. She was able to Face Time her son Kevin in Thailand so he could be a part of his mother’s celebrations.
Inviting country, warm friendship kept them close
Noelene Hughes and Maudie Garvey met in a little town in Canada in the 1960s. Last week the old friends, who have stayed close all these years later, celebrated Maudie’s 100th birthday with friends in Nambour and Marcoola.
“We’ve known each other for nearly 60 years,” said Noelene. “We met in Canada and we’re still living in the same area but on the other side of the world. There were big plans for her children to come and celebrate the centenary with Maudie but, of course, that’s all gone by the wayside because of travel restrictions. We thought ‘she can’t sit out there at Woombye on her birthday’ so we’ve organised a couple of special events for her.”
Friends arranged for lunch get-togethers at Nambour and at Marcoola Surf Club.
Maudie was born in England on October 22, 2021 and enjoyed a globe-trotting early life living in exotic countries and cities including Canada, Bombay, Madras, Singapore, Kenya, Mombasa, Durban, Wellington NZ and Nassau.
In the 1960s Maudie and her husband Pat and children Marilyn and Kevin arrived in Gold River on the west Coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. As they settled into their new home, Maudie got a job teaching at the new Gold River Elementary School.
“It was one of the first open plan schools at the time and where I first met her,” said Noelene. “We became great friends from then on and I even got to teach Kevin in Grade 1.”
The new town was the first all-electric town in Canada and was carved out of the forest.
“Later I moved to Australia with my family and bought a property on the Sunshine Coast,” said Noelene. “Maudie and her family came shortly afterwards. She and Pat bought a chicken farm at Eudlo and Maudie got a job teaching at Coolum State School. Imagine her surprise when she walked into her new classroom to find one of her pupils from Gold River, was now a pupil in her class on the other side of the world! The student, Bonnie, and her family had also decided to come to the beautiful Sunshine Coast.”
When her marriage ended Maudie and the children moved back to England and she taught for around 12 years. Later Maudie was drawn back to Australia to live and settled in Sydney near Marilyn. However the lure of the Sunshine Coast enticed Maudie back and she bought a house in Nambour surrounded by the country and friends she loved.
“Maudie joined many clubs here and also took classes at Retirement Villages to share her knowledge of Tai Chi with the residents,” Noelene said.
“After suffering a fall, plans were made by the family for Maudie to move to Woombye Care where she has received wonderful attention from the outstanding staff there.”
Happy Birthday Maudie, you deserve all of the accolades we can heap on you for an interesting life shared with so many people.