By Abbey Cannan
A Noosa Folk Dancer has proven age is only a number as she celebrated her 90th birthday as she does every other year, by doing the splits for the class.
Meredyth Howe danced her way into her 90s on Sunday 21 February, and planned to continue the festivity through a fortnight of parties with her many local activity groups.
With a ballet teacher as a mother, Meredyth said she was born into dancing.
“I’ve been dancing forever. I just enjoy moving to music,“ she said.
“I’ve always been active. I’ve always played sport. I still go to yoga, I still go to creative dance, I still swim laps most mornings. It’s just part of my makeup I think.“
For the past 25 years she has been dancing every Friday with the Noosa Folk Dancers in Tewantin.
“I used to occasionally teach the class as well,“ she said.
Despite not having any close family living in Australia, Meredyth has plenty of plans for her birthday week.
“We’ve just had lunch today with the folk dancers. Tomorrow I’m taking friends from the retirement village on the Mary Valley Rattler train from Gympie. On Sunday I’ve invited 11 friends to have lunch with me at the golf club. On Monday I’m having coffee with the Creative Dance team. On Tuesday I’m having lunch with my friends from yoga. I think I have the day off on Wednesday,“ she laughed.
Meredyth was born as “an aftershock“ of the Napier earthquake in New Zealand which happened on February 3 1971.
“I was born on the 21st a few days afterwards. My mother was evacuated because none of the hospitals stood up and the town was ruined,“ she said.
“I lived in New Zealand all my life and the reason I came to Noosa was because my daughter was at the time living in Melbourne and my son and his wife were living in London. So I didn’t feel I needed to live in Napier any longer.“
Once she moved to Noosa, Meredyth spent the first five years housesitting for locals.
“I didn’t have a home of my own and I just housesat from one to the other. I was extremely fortunate. Very occasionally I’d have to find a hotel for a night but never more than two nights. I met some very nice people.“
Throughout her career, Meredyth worked in a wide range of fields including as a gameshow choreographer, yoga teacher, babysitter, yoghurt saleswoman, and also organised Meals on Wheels services at the hospital.
She said the secret to keeping fit in her senior years was to just keep moving.
“Keep doing the activities you like to do. Get out and exercise your body. Exercising makes you happy. Keep enjoying life.“
