Sylvia’s birthday bash a huuuge family affair

By Richard BruinsmaWhen Woombye resident Sylvia Harvey (Calvert) went out to the Palmwoods Bowls Club to celebrate her birthday the other night, she looked forward to having at least “one turn” on the dance floor.And she definitely had no shortage of willing partners happy to join her on the polished parquetry at the front of the room.You see, Mrs Harvey is 96, and the children, grand-children and great grandchildren that make up her enthusiastic bunch of descendants number somewhere around 130… add their wives, husbands and partners and the family members actually struggle to number them all.Around 300 relatives attended her 90^th birthday, but this year it was a much smaller gathering – and they still packed out the Club.“It’s good,” Mrs Harvey said of the celebration of her milestone.“It’s nice to get them altogether – it’s not often that it happens.”Mrs Harvey still lives in the same Woombye house that has been her home for some 53 years, and she still does all her own gardening. Her first marital home was actually a tent, but later she spent many happy years travelling the world before settling down locally.She has unfortunately outlived two loving husbands, but has such a large network of her own descendants that she’s never short of a family member to drop in to say hi. One of her granddaughters – Abbey Crawford – noted that the family is so huge, that she still meets new cousins at family gatherings.“We’re pretty lucky but also at the same time you can’t know everyone,” she said of living in such a rare huge family situation.“She has relatives all over Australia.“So it’s good because you meet new family members all the time.”The relatives travelled from as far as Chillagoe in far North Queensland, Cairns, Murgon, Nanango Peachester and, of course, Woombye, to join the birthday celebration. All but one of her 12 children was able to attend.As for that turn on the dance floor, all the family members are inspired by the quietly spoken Mrs Harvey’s energy and enthusiasm for life.You can bet her 100^th birthday party in four years’ time is going to be even huuuger.Photo caption: Mrs Sylvia Harvey (Calvert) with 11 of her 12 children, from left, Janette Crawford, Glenda Kuskopf, Christine Calvert, Jenny Rattray, Gloria Berry, mum Sylvia Calvert (Harvey), Noeline Frohloff, Brian Calvert, Neville Calvert, Ronald Calvert, Graham Calvert and Warren Calvert. Their sister Debbie Messell lives in Denmark and couldn’t attend the party.