Fraser Coast’s Cecilia Hynes celebrates turning 105

With her family by her side, a beloved matriarch celebrating her 105th birthday has reflected on surviving the hard times and how special it was to be surrounded by people she loves.

She has survived two pandemics and lived through two world wars and the Great Depression.

Now, at 105, Hervey Bay’s Cecilia Hynes said it is the love of her family that keeps her going.

Now a Baycrest resident, Ms Hynes lived in the same home in Tinana for more than 60 years and raised her family there alongside her husband, Tom.

On Monday, she celebrated her milestone birthday with her beloved family by her side.

Since she turned 100, Mrs Hynes has had many opportunities to look back on her long life and she says it‘s the precious memories that mean the most to her.

Memories like meeting Tom for the first time when he asked her to go to a dance.

When Mrs Hynes would play the piano, he wooed her by turning her sheet music for her.

The two were married in Ayr when she was 24.

Fraser Coast resident Cecilia Hynes celebrates her 105th birthday alongside her family.

The couple welcomed eight children, but Mrs Hynes’ life was almost cut short during the Second World War when she had an ectopic pregnancy.

“I almost died, I was a fortnight unconscious,” she said.

The Second World War was underway and times were tough.

Nurses were few and far between, but Tom sat with her every day as she clung to life.

During her third pregnancy she had to have an ovary removed and she was told she might struggle to have more children.

But five more followed.

The couple moved to Maryborough more than 70 years ago and Tom built their house in Tinana, where they raised their family.

Cecilia Hynes celebrating her 100th birthday on the 10th of October. Pictured with great granddaughter Rose Thomas who shares the same birthdate and was born on the tenth of the tenth of the tenth, at a tree planting ceremony at the Elizabeth Park Rose Garden in Maryborough.

Mrs Hynes became heavily involved in hockey and was a founding member of Tinana Hockey Club.

About 25 years ago, when Tom was dying, she would sit with him every day, just as he did for her when she fought her health battle and she was told he could still hear her, so she spoke to him constantly.

The day he died, he sat up in bed and told his beloved wife “I love you too”.

“That proved he heard me,” Mrs Hynes said.

“I often think of it.”

After surviving bowel cancer at the age of 94, Mrs Hynes remained in the house Tom built for many more years before recently becoming a resident at Baycrest.

Cecilia Hynes of Maryborough, 102 years of age, holding a photograph of herself when she was aged 18 years.

Speaking to the Fraser Coast Chronicle at the start of the pandemic in 2020, Mrs Hynes had some words of wisdom to share.

She was just a year old when Spanish flu came to Australia’s shores in 1918 in the aftermath of World War One.

After losing 62,000 Australians during the war, another 13,000 would die of the flu in about a year.

There was no hand sanitiser then – no big rush on toilet paper either.

But schools were closed, sporting events – if they proceeded – were unattended, and worshippers stayed away from church.

At the age of 102, she again found herself in the midst of a global pandemic when Covid-19 began to spread, but she urged people not to panic and to stay calm.

As to how she’s lived such a long life?

Clean living might be the answer - she’s never been one for smoking or drinking.

She‘s survived more than 100 years of tough times and she still says, “I’m really, really blessed”.