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on Wednesday, October 12, 2022
Centenarian Renee Bartel was just 32 when Queen Elizabeth 11 made her first visit to Sydney and passed by in a motorcade on George St in 1954. This year, The Uniting Chapman Close resident celebrated her 100th birthday with fellow residents at the Dougherty Centre in Chatswood.
"The residents here gave me a very nice luncheon on my birthday and I received a letter from the Governor-General, which is a lovely acknowledgement," Mrs Bartel said.
"I turned 100 on 24 May. If you were in England, you would know that it's called Empire Day because it was Queen Victoria's birthday and that's where I'm from.
"I admire Queen Elizabeth greatly. She is a beautiful person, and I watched every second of her demise. When she first came to Australia, I did see her as she was arriving at a reception in the town hall in Sydney.
"I was working in the city and when I finished work, I took a little stool and went and sat to wait for her to arrive.
"I got a spot outside the town hall right on the corner and I saw her - she looked so beautiful. She was in a car all lit up arriving for the reception. I will never forget it. It was really lovely."
Mrs Bartel, who worked at Royal North Shore Hospital for more than 20 years, came to Australia with her husband in 1946 as a British Migrant at the end of the war.
"We had a lovely trip over here. A lot of people came on the migrant ships. They were great big liners with so many floors, but we were very fortunate. We came out on a cargo passenger ship and we went via the Panama Canal.
"There were only 90 passengers, so we had a lovely time. But when we arrived at Sydney we couldn't come through the heads because the weather was so bad.
"I went up to the promenade deck as I was intrigued, and I was standing there on the deck looking up at the waves that's how rough it was. I was a very good sailor."
Since retiring, Mrs Bartel has been a member of a local amateur theatre group working behind the scenes to ensure guests are well attended to during the show.
"I'm a life member. We used to put on some good plays. We had matinees and I used to do a lot of the catering for the suppers," she said.
"I have been with this group since I retired so that's a few years. I like doing things for people. I am a people person.
"I also love travelling and have travelled a lot. The only place I haven't been is America. But I have travelled a lot in Australia, and it is a wonderful country. I like Western Australia for the flowers. It is so vast - I like it very much."
Mrs Bartel, who is originally from Sheffield, said she was the only person in her family that she knew of to live beyond 100 and that it was likely due to her healthy diet.
"I am very fortunate as I am quite healthy and still very mobile. To me age is a number. People have said to me 'I feel 100 today' and I'll say 'what does it feel like to be 100'?"
Mrs Bartel, who has lived at Chapman Close since 2000, said it was not our destiny to tell others how to live their lives but had one piece of advice.
"You must give, you can't be the receiver all the time. You have got to give to this world if you want to get anything and I like helping people."
Uniting Village Manager Lisa Ciantar said it was fantastic to see Renee celebrate her 100th birthday at Uniting Chapman close.
"It was lovely that all the residents came together to celebrate a grand milestone for such a beautiful person," she said.
"It is a great example of the community connectedness at the village."
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