While her memories may have faded with the decades, soon-to-be 110-year-old Bridget Grocke’s sense of humour remains as a testament to all the hardened battlers of her generation.
On November 18, Grocke will join an exclusive club of super-centenarians surrounded by her friends and family – which includes 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren – at a picnic in Subiaco.
The tough-as-nails super-cententarian enjoying her daily glass of beer.Credit: Ross Swanborough
She is believed to be the seventh oldest person in the country and second in the state.
Born in Leederville in 1914 and raised in the Goldfields town of Kalgoorlie as the second-eldest of a family of seven, Grocke has lived through two world wars, the Great Depression, witnessed the space race and the rapidly evolving information age.
As the daughter of an engine driver, she travelled around the state until she began her working life as a cashier at Kalgoorlie’s Montgomery Brothers’ Store.
At just 18 years old, she made the bold step to move to Perth on her own, where her knack for connecting with customers made her a skilled seller and popular staffer at David Jones (then Aherns).
In 1942, she married husband Jim at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Subiaco and together the couple had four children.
“If you’re nice to people, they’ll be nice to you”
Bridget Grocke
They first lived in a flat in Nedlands, in Perth’s western suburbs, with their first two children, until child number three came along. They soon outgrew their humble abode and bought a bush block in Doubleview, in the city’s north, to build their family home.
After Jim passed away in 1985, Grocke moved again, but not far, trading her 1000-square-metre block for one of three units being built right next door.
There, she lived independently until the age of 109, when she took up residence at Bethanie Subiaco – where she still enjoys an Emu Export at 4pm every day.
Bridget Grocke is one of Australia’s oldest citizens.Credit: Ross Swanborough
Today, only her youngest sibling – now 94 – remains by her side along with her remaining son, daughter and extended family, who visit her daily.
The tough-as-nails great-grandmother – whose only major health intervention was cataract surgery at age 100 – has one simple piece of advice for younger generations.
“If you’re nice to people, they’ll be nice to you,” she said on Wednesday.
Sharp as a tack and still with a witty sense of humour, Grocke joked that she didn’t remember the day she was born when asked to share some of her early memories.
“She keeps Bethanie on their toes with her humour,” daughter Jan Robertson said.
Robertson said her mother had learnt perseverance from an early age from her own mother, who only had one arm.
Bridget Grocke at Cottesloe Beach, age 21.Credit: Bethanie
One of her mother’s happiest memories was of her marriage to Jim, Robertson said.
“Dad was all dressed in his army attire, and so were the wedding party,” she said.
“There was a story about the wedding dress that mum wore, that it was borrowed because in those days there was no such thing as brand-new wedding gowns.
“But she knew somebody, that knew somebody, that had been married, and they were very happy to loan her the dress so it was quite a grand event.”
This week, Grocke received letters from King Charles and Queen Camilla, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Governor of Western Australia Chris Dawson, all sending warm wishes for her 110th birthday.