Terence Moyana

Audrey’s love of gardening is blooming marvellous

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For decades, Audrey Peters’ award-winning gardens have been the talk of the town in Toowoomba, home of the famous Carnival of Flowers. Now, the remarkable 91 year-old is still showing off her green thumb. The garden in her new home at Seachange Toowoomba is a riot of colourful blooms and has captured the attention and admiration of residents and visitors alike. Even her roses are coming into bud much earlier than expected. Audrey’s tiny garden is such an inspiration that Seachange implemented its own gardening competition with Audrey taking out the inaugural first prize.

 

The self-taught gardener discovered her passion for flowers when she left school as a 13 year-old and went to work as babysitter and household help for a farming family in the area. “In my spare time there was nothing to do so I asked if I could make a garden. I wasn’t interested in veggies or anything but I loved to grow flowers,” she said. As an 18 year-old bride, Audrey and her husband went dairy farming and then ran a poultry farm with 5000 chooks. The couple had four children and Audrey now has 12 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren. Her passion for cottage gardens, brimming with romantic wisteria, ranunculi, violas, pansies and snapdragons, really took off when the couple retired and moved into a new home on a half acre block close to town.

 

“My husband and I created that garden and we did all the work ourselves. Sometimes I don’t know how we did it because it was a big job and we had to clear out a lot of rocks. “There was a story going around that I had four men working for me,” Audrey laughed. The results were so spectacular that Audrey’s daughter Jenny secretly nominated the garden in the Carnival of Flowers country gardens competition. “I didn’t know anything about it until the judges rang me up and said they were coming out to judge my garden. There was a bit of a rush to get ready but it really did look beautiful,” she said. That was the start of a winning streak with Audrey taking out top prize four years in a row and her garden becoming a favourite stop for local tourist busses. “It was fantastic for me at the time. When I see photos of the garden I think to myself how on earth did I ever do that.”

 

Today, Audrey spends most of her time in her garden, when she isn’t doing her own housework or joining in with her neighbours in a raft of community activities. “Moving to Seachange was the best thing I have ever done,” Audrey said. “All the people are very nice and my neighbour looks after me. I could throw in the sponge in but they keep me going…along with my garden.”

 

 

 

Learning the art of living life to the full

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Take a closer look and you will see the beautiful water lily images hanging at Toowoomba’s Seachange Lifestyle Resort are not Monet prints but original paintings by local artist and resident Joan Hurtado. After a lifetime teaching art and featuring in solo and group exhibitions, Joan, is entering a new creative phase. She is currently studying for a degree in visual art at the University of Southern Queensland Toowoomba campus.

 

“I reached 85 and thought about what I was going to do with my life. I enrolled at uni to learn things about art I didn’t know. It is important to question your journey and where you are going and to find ways to stay busy. “Friends say I am crazy and study certainly isn’t for everyone – only if you have a fire and want to do it for yourself. “My life has been very unusual. I’ve had a lot of change, a lot of travel and I’ve learned to cope with change, whereas someone who hasn’t had that movement might find it almost impossible. “The technology can be a bit daunting but I persevered and I am getting there. The university and younger students are always happy to help.”

 

Some of Joan’s best artworks hang in the garage of her stylish new home – a combination of pieces from a recent exhibition in Roma plus a sampling of new works. Her next works are likely to feature the rugged red outback of Western Australia as Joan is currently packing her rucksack in preparation for a 13-day camping and walking tour of the Kimberleys in July. “I am really excited about camping in the Bungle Bungles. I will be taking lots of photos and sketching to bring back inspiration to do more paintings.”

 

 

Joan has been fascinated with art since she was a tiny child living with her grandmother in England during the harrowing days of World War II. “I remember at the age of five, when I saw my grandmother writing on a bit of paper, I thought it was magic so I commandeered the pencil,” she said. “It was England in wartime and I was an only child so art is how I used to amuse myself.”

 

Joan’s mother drove ambulances and trucks and her father was a Prisoner of War, so young Joan didn’t know her parents when the family migrated to Australia to set up a new life. She carried her love of art into her first job working in a library while studying dressmaking and fashion design at night. Her high school education and fashion certificate led to a job teaching dressmaking to high school students and later as an art and craft teacher, before Joan upgraded her qualifications to become a year three teacher at Hobartville, Richmond, in New South Wales.

 

At the same time, she was entering art competitions and exhibiting her own paintings, which were quite traditional, unlike the large contemporary landscapes she produces today. As well as painting Joan has tried her hand at all kinds of craft, including pottery weaving, stained glass and leatherwork. “I don’t really have a  favourite medium. They are all creative things that use your hands which is what I like to do and that’s why I still do it.” The vibrant light and expansive Australian landscape have been a constant inspiration for Joan who farmed with her husband for more than 20 years on the NSW mid-north coast, while teaching at Macksville High School.  “Things changed when my son died just before his 30th birthday and we moved to Queensland. We lived in the outback at Mitchell for 10 years because that is where my husband wanted to be. I had an art studio there and ran workshops and volunteered in the local community gallery.

 

“My husband and I met at 15 and we were best friends until he died five years ago. Then I got a dog instead. We had lots of adventures together and travelled widely in Australia and overseas.” At 70 when retired and living in Brisbane, Joan took on a full-time teaching position at Canberra Boys Grammar for six months, filling in for a friend who was undertaking a degree in Thailand. It was later, while checking out summer school workshops in Toowoomba, that she discovered her new home at Seachange.

 

 

“My daughter wanted me to be closer to her in Brisbane but this is my time. I’ve got a beautiful home and a beautiful community that enables me to be independent. I’m close to the university and I am looking forward to enjoying the rest of my life.”

 

 

Carolyn gives recycling the green thumbs up

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One tiny bag of garbage is all Carolyn Cloake has to throw in her bin at the end of each week. The avid environmentalist has made recycling an artform and she is encouraging her neighbours at Seachange Lifestyle Resort Toowoomba to get into the spirit. “Each of us can do fairly simple things to protect our environment and minimise the amount of rubbish we send to landfill,” Carolyn said. “We can all make small changes like taking a reusable bag when we buy fruit and vegies rather than using a plastic bag, just as we did with groceries.

 

“Today, people are very quick to throw things out – it is easy and convenient but often it is because they don’t know what else they can do with the things they no longer want. “A lot of  items can be recycled if you know where to go. Batteries can be dropped off at the supermarket, for example, and Toowoomba Regional Council has excellent recycling facilities that takes larger items like e-waste, metal, cardboard, polystyrene. Old pens, markers and ink cartridges can be dropped into Officeworks for recycling and old sports shoes can go to  sports retailers. “Recycling takes a bit of effort but, as consumers, we need to take responsibility for what we buy and do our bit to reduce our own environmental footprint. “Older people are often great role models. Many of them grew up in times when you had to make things last. Things were made to be repaired and you couldn’t just go to the shop and buy new.”

 

 

Toowoomba Regional Council Water and Waste Committee portfolio leader Cr Nancy Sommerfield congratulated Carolyn Cloake’s tremendous recycling efforts. “Carolyn is showing how easily residents can reduce their own waste streams,” Cr Sommerfield said. “Carolyn is a shining example of how household behaviour can help Council reduce, reuse and recycle precious resources to divert more material from our landfills. “Diverting recyclable material from landfill reduces operating costs and promotes further environmental benefits.”

 

Carolyn bundles up her unwanted clothes, sheets and towels and posts them to a manufacturer for upcycling where the material is repurposed into upholstery filling, insulation and many other uses. “If you wouldn’t give it to your best friend, you shouldn’t send it to the op shop. We all like to donate old clothes to charity but many of the stores are so overloaded that they have to dispose of a lot of the unsuitable clothing.” Kitchen scraps go into the worm farm and compost bin to feed the organic community garden run by a group of Seachange residents. “The garden is great fun and we love to share home grown organic produce with everyone in the community,” said Carolyn. The Seachange community now has a collection bin near the resort clubhouse where everyone is encouraged to deposit their cans and bottles to raise money for charity.

 

Carolyn and her husband John moved to Seachange Toowoomba, part of the Ingenia over 50s Communities, from their acreage property on the Sunshine Coast 18 months ago. They were attracted by the community’s beautifully landscaped gardens and environmentally friendly design, which includes built-in water recycling and solar power to help reduce household running costs.

 

 

As a teacher’s aide, Carolyn led the student environment squad at Mooloolaba State school teaching primary school children how to do their bit to care for the environment. “Growing up on a farm we learnt to make use of what was available and I have taken a lot of those experiences with me through life. We only went to town once a week and weren’t used to having new all the time,” she said. Cr Sommerfield said Council was continuing to expand recycling options at the Region’s waste facilities. “Council is working to transition in line with the state government targets for 90% of our waste being reused and diverted from landfill by 2050. “Recycling initiatives reinforce a circular economy where product streams can be recycled, repurposed or reused, for instance the use of glass in road construction.”

 

 

 

 

Television pioneer celebrates her life in print

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Few people can match Judy Brown’s cheeky sense of humour and zest for life – except perhaps her husband Tony. After a career as a model, pioneering daytime television host, casting agent, successful businesswoman, and mother of nine children, including three sets of twins, 86-year-old Judy shows few signs of slowing down.

 

Despite surviving serious heart problems and a brush with leukaemia, Judy is currently writing three books about her adventures in show business, including her search for old American vehicles, planes and helicopters, which she planned to house in a museum and hire as props to Australian filmmakers. One of her books about motherhood is titled “Nine Lives” – a promise Judy made to her good friend, the late Maura Fay, one of Australia’s best-known casting agents.

 

 

“Maura came up from Sydney every year because she believed the best actors in Australia came out of the Darling Downs Institute of Acting. “I adore writing and I always wanted to be a journalist. “But my father wanted me to do an economics degree — which is the greatest laugh in the world — and I ended up being a model. I got married and became a PR person for Myer and organised and compered the big fashion shows at the EKKA.”

 

Judy was a fresh face on early daytime television in Queensland fronting Nine O’clock and Brisbane Today on Channel 0/10, followed by Good Morning Brisbane on Channel 7. Boxes of old photographs in her garage attest to the dozens of world-famous celebrities, actors and politicians she has interviewed. After her stint in the media. Judy took a tilt at Federal Politics, running for the National Party in the die-hard Labor seat of Bulimba. “I honestly don’t know how I managed it all. My husband at the time did not do a thing. Luckily, I had a very good friend who used to mind the children for me. When I had the television show I made sure I was home at 3:30 in the afternoon to pick them up and I’d get up early and drive them all to college.

 

 

“I’ve got a wonderful husband now – the most perfect husband in the world. He doesn’t sit still for five minutes.” At 81, Tony Brown is a keen tennis player, and a life member of the Range Tennis Club, the oldest club in Queensland (1893). He is a school crossing supervisor, a long-standing volunteer at St Vincent’s Private Hospital, and part of a musical trio that regularly performs at aged care homes. A drummer in his earlier days, Tony was well known on the Brisbane jazz circuit before he broke his wrist falling from a horse and swapped drumsticks for the ukelele and banjo.

 

Between them, the couple have 13 children, 25 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. The fun-loving pair, who have been together more than 40 years, have made a big splash since moving to Seachange Toowoomba in 2021. They discovered their first home in Toowoomba by chance while visiting friends in 2008. “I thought we were helping them look for a property,” Judy laughed. “On our second trip up here we saw an absolutely fantastic unit opposite Queens Park and bought it on the spot.

 

“When we got home we realised we hadn’t seen the laundry and the stairs became a problem, so we looked around and found Seachange. “Moving here is just the best decision I have ever made and we have the most beautiful neighbours. “I have done some incredible stuff in my life but I had actually kind of forgotten about it until I started to write this book and that is bringing the memories back. “It’s important keep your brain active all the time and get out and do something.  Think about what you are going to leave for the grandchildren and great-grandchildren and sit down and write your stories.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ancient art a helping hand to better health

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Hand exercises you can easily do in bed, or sitting in front of the TV, are just some of the ways you can use the ancient art of Qi Gong to improve your health. Gently tapping on the acupressure points in the hands and face can stimulate the body encouraging energy – or “chi” – to refresh circulation and muscles and help relieve aches and pains.

 

Qi Gong can be more stimulating than coffee and it’s one of the secrets to a long and youthful life for 81-year-old instructor Janita Ying, a resident at Ingenia’s Seachange Toowoomba. Each week, Janita leads a group of friends and neighbours in a series of choreographed movements to music. As well as having fun on a Thursday morning, the class is learning a complex sequence of ancient movements in preparation for a public display at the end of the year.

 

 

Janita has been teaching the ancient art of Qi Gong for more than 20 years and has been to China several times to study under Grand Master Chan. Qi Gong proved to be a useful skill for the many years Janita worked as a diversional therapist, interpreter and massage therapist helping palliative care patients at Tamworth Hospital. “The more I learned about Qi Gong the more I liked it,” she said. “I have always loved caring for people and teaching them why and how to exercise so they can better look after themselves.”

 

Janita was forced to give up work four years ago when she broke her ankle. After that, she found the stairs and large, sloping garden at her family home were too hard to navigate so she and her husband moved to Seachange Toowoomba. The timber dance floor in the resort’s light-filled community clubhouse provides a luxurious setting for the slow, graceful Qi Gong movements that are inspired by nature.

 

Unlike its cousin Tai Chi, the primary focus of Qi Gong is better health. Tai Chi was developed centuries later and has its roots in martial arts. Fellow Seachange resident Sue Gregor is a convert after taking up Qi Gong less than a year ago. She often leads the group when Janita is away. Sue and her husband moved to Toowoomba from the Sunshine Coast, in 2021, accompanied by their elderly dog and two ragdoll cats. “Qi Gong is very relaxing. You can feel the energy going through your body,” she said. “It has helped me with my sciatic pain. “It has also helped me to find some peace after losing my husband just a few months ago.”

 

 

“All my life I have been one to get in, work hard and really feel like I’ve made an effort. This is a much quieter challenge but still quite demanding to get the body, mind and breathing all working together.”

 

The group is currently preparing the “Wild Goose” routine – a 10-minute sequence inspired by wild birds spreading their wings, flying in the sky and searching for food.

 

 

Diving head first into the good life at Seachange Toowoomba

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Margaret Anderton discovered aquarobics while recuperating from surgery and, like most things in life, the sporty 81 year old dived right in. Now she teaches three classes a week for friends and neighbours at the Ingenia Seachange Lifestyle Resort, in Toowoomba.

 

After losing a kidney to cancer a year ago, Margaret donned her swimmers and picked up a pool noodle intent on using gentle, low impact exercise to rebuild her health. At the centre of the Seachange Toowoomba community is an elegant country club-style community centre, complete with fully equipped and heated indoor pool. It is just outside Margaret’s front door and she heads there most mornings to take a dip. At first, the fitness enthusiast worked out on her own but others wanted to join in and asked for her advice. When Margaret said she was willing to lead a small group she had no idea that 28 people would sign up. “We still have a waiting list and some people never miss a class but three sessions a week is all I can manage with all my other commitments,” she laughed. “The pool has salt and magnesium in it, so the water is smoother and silkier and good for aches and pains. It is always a comfortable 30 degrees in winter and 28 degrees in summer so there is no excuse for skipping a session.”

 

 

Margaret has put together a program of modified exercises to suit older people and she gets in the pool each session to demonstrate. “Unless I do the session too, I’m not getting the benefit,” she said. “I’ve always been active and interested in exercise because it makes you feel so much better. As you get older, it is important to keep your body supple and not let your joints stiffen.” Slim and lithe, Margaret played tennis until recently when major surgery put her out of the game. She still plays ladies pool, indoor bowls and goes to pilates.

 

When she is not working out, she is a whizz at scrabble and visits nursing homes playing the ukelele in a musical ensemble with friends. “I’ve always been a motivated person and volunteering has been a big part of my life,” she said. Her contribution has been outstanding, as Secretary of the Country Women’s Association, and Driver/Reviver volunteer for more than 20 years, treasurer of both the tennis club and museum, and Sunday school helper.

 

 

After 35 years working with cattle and crops on the family farm, Margaret moved to Seachange Toowoomba last year after losing her husband to dementia. “I was mentally and physically ready for the change,” she said. “By then we had left the property and built a house at Millmerran so we could go fishing, travelling and enjoy the grandchildren, but it was tough maintaining a big house and garden on my own. “I wanted to stay in Toowoomba because I was born here and have family in the area. The house sold in three weeks and I moved to Seachange. It was meant to be. “Seachange has been such a welcoming place and so quiet and peaceful. I’ve enjoyed making new friends and there is real peace of mind living in a gated community.”