‘Country girl’: Grafton great grandmother Elaine Davis celebrates 100th birthday
A laid-back “country girl” who takes each day as it comes and is determined to continue living independently has celebrated her 100th birthday. Meet Grafton’s Elaine Davis.
Grafton
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A great grandmother who credits her longevity to having a smaller family and abstaining from alcohol and tobacco has recently hit a century – and she’s absolutely smashing it.
The Clarence Valley’s Elaine Davis celebrated her 100th birthday on June 29 in style surrounded by family at the Grafton District Services Club.
The centenarian was presented with her letter from the King and Queen, and also received cards from the governor-general, the mayor and federal member Kevin Hogan.
“I got the letter from the King and all those things,” Ms Davis said.
“I had a party and it was really very nice.”
Celebrating the milestone with lunch and a cake, Ms Davis enjoyed the festivities with her daughter Janet and son-in-law Peter, son Brian and his wife Denise, niece Sue, and grandchildren Mickey and Esther.
Ms Davis said she was the only one that has lived this long in her family.
“I only had two (children) but some of them had really big families … that’s enough to stop you from living long,” she said.
“Times were harder, conditions were not easy as they are now. I do wonder what the difference is but none of my family lived as long as that.
“Perhaps 80, they might live up to that but not 100.
“I’m quite well actually though I don’t walk around as well as I used to and I use walkers but I’m quite well in my health.
“I take a tablet for my heart and blood pressure but apart from that I’m keeping up really well.”
Ms Davis is one of eight men and 37 women 100 years or older in the Coffs-Grafton region according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 data.
Ms Davis’ son Brian said she was a “terrific mother”.
Raised on a 12,000 acre sheep station at Merriwa, Elaine rode horses on the property, fished in their creek, shot rabbits and played tennis.
“They used to walk to school with no shoes … and on cold mornings they used to stand in steaming cow pats to warm their feet,” Mr Davis said.
“They lived on rabbits and sheep of course, mum was raised a real country girl, with two sisters and a brother.
“Mum never drank or smoked or anything like that.
“She was raised on clean living and bush tucker – bread and dripping, that was a favourite thing there in those days but health experts stick their nose up at it saying it’ll kill ya. Yeah, well, mum’s 100.
“They ate cream and used to make their own butter, cheese, and everything. Full cream milk where you let it settle overnight you get a great big thick layer of cream on the top.
“You’re not supposed to do that anymore – but she’s 100.
“All the pure butter – not supposed to eat that, that’ll kill ya – well she’s 100.”
Elaine married Walter Davis (deceased) in the mid 1940s and moved to the Clarence area from her home “Oaklands” at Casillas south West NSW, where she still lives in the home Walter built for them in South Grafton.
“It was a double wedding, mum and her sister married soldiers, my dad and his brother,” Mr Davis said.
When reflecting on the hoopla of her 100th birthday, a humble Ms Davis said she wasn’t one for the limelight.
“I’m not the type of person really, that likes a lot of attention,” she said.
“It was very nice to have the dinners and things – they were all very nice to me and I’ve enjoyed it really, but it’s just another birthday for me.”
Got a story tip? Email catherine.piltz@news.com.au
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