By Abbey Cannan
If Queen Elizabeth can enjoy a Gin and Tonic, then so can Noosaville’s Margaret Sherrell as she celebrates her 100th birthday.
Margaret was joined by her friends, fellow residents, Noosa MP Sandy Bolton, and Southern Cross Care Queensland’s CEO Jason Eldering at Noosa Waters Retirement Estate on Thursday 12 November to enjoy the special milestone.
Her century of life has been filled with farm work, horse riding and travelling the world, but the one thing Margaret is most proud of is her family.“I grew up on a farm in the UK and was married during the war and had a lovely son,“ she said.
“He loved me very much and was very caring. When my son grew up, he worked at the bank and then he was transferred to Singapore, where he met my daughter in law.
“He was the manager and she was working for the Australian Government after all the troops had left. He came to Australia and when they had a child, he brought my granddaughter to the UK to see us. When the second one was arriving, he said you better come out here if you want to see your grandchildren growing up.
“My husband had arthritis and was terribly crippled. So we came to Australia to live and they were both public servants in Canberra. We were a bit scared they didn’t want us to settle in the Canberra district but we said we’ve come all these miles to be with you so we settled there too.“
Margaret said she had no idea Canberra was so cold.
“We stayed in Canberra for five years and in the meantime we had been up to Queensland on holiday and loved it so we bought a block a land and built and then we came up to Noosa to live,“ she said.
“I’ve been here 30 years and I’ve seen many changed over time. I’m happy here.“
Margaret said the one thing everyone should do in their life is travel the world.
“See as much of the world as you can,“ she said. “I’ve always been frugal at home and spent all of my money on travelling and seeing the world.
“It broadens your mind it also makes you appreciate your own country more.“
Margaret said her favourite places to travel had been the Pacific Islands and South Africa.
“I had a wonderful holiday in South Africa on Safari. I’ve never been to Alaska because I don’t want to be cold.“
Margaret said she was lucky to live out in the country during the war.
“I was on the farm, so I wasn’t in the cities where all of the devastation was. But we were 32 miles from Plymouth so we could see the glow of Plymouth burning because they had a lot of petrol there,“ she said.
Margaret said she didn’t feel any different to be 100 and that her secret to a long life was a drop of wine with dinner.
“I also enjoy a Gin and Tonic. Queen Elizabeth aged 102 and she used to like her Gin and Tonic as well,“ she said.
