Lillian Acton celebrates 100th birthday in Bowen

As a Whitsundays’ great-grandmother celebrates her 100th birthday, she looks back at her difficult upbringing akin to a real life Cinderella story that she says led her to ‘take life as it comes’.

Lillian Acton is celebrating her 100th birthday as she looks back at her difficult upbringing akin to a real life Cinderella story that she says led her to “take life as it comes”. Picture: Contributed

Lillian Acton is celebrating her 100th birthday as she looks back at her difficult upbringing akin to a real life Cinderella story that she says led her to “take life as it comes”.

The Home Hill great-grandmother said she was not used to talking about herself or reflecting on her own trials, which included domestic abuse while growing up.

With a big family to take care of, she summed up her best advice as this: “I never argued with anyone, if they’re wrong I let them find their own mistakes.”

It is a quality admired by her son Warren Acton.

“Her real power came in her ability to let things go, she has not been scarred by it,” Mr Acton said, while visiting his mum for her 100th birthday celebrations.

“We were brought up in a wonderful family, mum and dad never fought, there was no violence, nothing like that … (we learned) that you live honestly even if you don’t have much,” he said.

Lillian Acton, her son Warren and his wife at her 100th birthday celebrations on October 31. Picture: Contributed

Lillian Acton at her 100th birthday celebration at the Cunningham Villas in Bowen on October 31. Picture: Contributed

This testament from a grateful son derived from Mrs Acton’s life mission to give her children what she never got as a child.

Born on October 31, 1923 in Charters Towers, she became an orphan at the age of two and spent two years in an orphanage.

A family adopted her when she was four but she never felt fully welcome.

Mrs Acton said her adoptive mother was a very hard woman who would belt her.

As Mrs Acton retells the story of her upbringing, the list of chores she had to do comes back as a litany.

“Feed the chooks, gather the eggs, milk the goat and lock up the chooks,” she repeated.

“I had a lot of things to do. I had to have that work done before they got back.”

Mrs Acton said she was also barred from sitting with the rest of the family at Christmas time and when she gained her first job, her adoptive mother would take her money.

“I never argued, if you argued too much you’d get a smash across the face and things like that you know,” she said.

Lillian Acton, 27, and her first son Edward, March 1951. Picture: Contributed

Mrs Acton said her happiest moment was when at 19 she went to live with the son of her adoptive mother, Jack, and his family after she passed.

“They said, Lilli, you can come live with us,” she said as she started weeping.

“They gave me a home with them and the five girls were like five sisters to me.”

It was through this new family that she met her husband Burt that she was married to for 43 years.

They lived in Home Hill and had five children.

“I tried to give my children the best that I could,” Mrs Acton said.

“They had a good father and we gave them what we could afford.

“I would go without to give it to my children, not to spoil them, but to give them what I have tried to get for a long time.”