Need help?
We offer a free aged care concierge and comparison service helping you secure the best aged care available.
1300 197 230
on Monday, January 13, 2025
‘Life is full of ups and downs,’ Daphne says. ‘While I haven’t been aware of it at the time, when I look back, I can see that I’ve been directed and led to do these things. My faith brings me peace and that keeps me humble.’
Daphne was born in Tumby Bay, delivered by the local doctor, Dr Wibberley. Her family owns a property called Glen Park, known to everyone as ‘Redcliffs’.
‘Six generations of our family have lived in the homestead on the property now,’ Daphne says. ‘My great grandnephew is now farming the land.’
Sadly, Daphne’s younger sister died of pneumonia at the age of just two and a half. This family tragedy delayed Daphne’s start at the local school.
‘The school was located in the corner of a paddock on the Lincoln Highway, around 9 miles (14 kilometres) away,’ Daphne says. ‘Because of the distance, I boarded with a local family who lived near the school, and each weekend, my mother would come and bring me home.’
This arrangement lasted for seven months, but Daphne’s mother Ellen (Nel), wanted her daughter at home, so decided to teach Daphne via correspondence instead.
‘Each fortnight we received the pages of schoolwork,’ Daphne says. ‘And then we would send them back to Miss Green in Adelaide, who would mark the work.’
Young Daphne Cartmel
Daphne’s younger brother, John, was born when Daphne was eight years old. When it was John’s turn to go to school a few years later, Nel decided it was time for Daphne to start working on the farm.
‘I drove a team of 12 horses,’ Daphne says. ‘Each had a nose bag. I would cut the hay and snook it (bundle together the sheaves), as well as chaff the hay. There was no such thing as pants or jeans for girls then, so I always ended up with scratches on my legs.’
On the farm, the Lawrie’s grew wheat, oat, and barley. They also ran 1-2000 head of sheep, as well as keeping 20 cows for milking. Sometimes, the Lawrie’s had a farm hand to help them, but during the war years, workmen were very scarce and, during the depression, money was not around to pay a worker. Daphne helped out a lot.
‘Our daily routine was attending to the livestock,’ Daphne says. ‘We didn’t have water on the farm for the animals, so we dug a well a little way off in a swamp area closer to the sea, and then we would have to take the cows and the horses there for them to drink. I was outside a lot more than I was inside. It wasn’t until I was married that I learnt how to do baking and cooking!’
A move away
On Tuesday nights Tumby Bay would come alive.
‘The MV Minnipa would bring fruit and vegetable supplies to the town and as a teenager, I used to ride my bike into Tumby Bay to attend the Christian Endeavour meetings,’ Daphne says. ‘I’d then stay at a friend’s house so I could attend piano lessons in the morning. The road was always very corrugated, so it was a terribly, bumpy journey on my bike.’
At Christian Endeavor, Daphne learnt how to run meetings, and the group helped her to build confidence and manage stakeholders – skills she continues to use to this day. Daphne’s husband-to-be, Colin, was studying for the ministry with Churches of Christ. He was from Victoria and was visiting Tumby Bay as part of his studies.
The couple were soon engaged and married and moved to Victor Harbor. Their daughter Karen was born in 1948. A family crisis called Colin home to Victoria shortly after, and Daphne and Karen went with him. Colin did not cope well with the stress of the situation and when Daphne fell pregnant again, Colin asked that she return to Tumby Bay to have the baby, to lessen his load a little.
Daphne returned home to the open arms of her family, and had her second child, Brendan, in 1950. Colin joined them later, and the family made their home in nearby Port Lincoln. However, it was apparent that Colin was forever changed.
‘He didn’t have the love for the children, or the love for me,’ Daphne says. ‘He felt like he couldn’t be a good father, so, sadly, we went back to Tumby Bay and he went back to Victoria where he lived his life until he died at age 90.’
Back at Tumby
With the children at school at Tumby Bay Primary, Daphne got a job at Brock’s General Store. When it was time for high school, Daphne’s father, Roy, purchased a home for the family at Grange Road, Mitcham, so the children could attend school in town. Daphne found work nearby at Mitcham Central shops.
The children grew up – Karen married, and Brendan moved to Melbourne – and when Nel suffered a stroke, Daphne felt it was only right to move back home and help her mum and dad. The house on Grange Road was sold, and she moved to a house in Tumby Bay that had been built by her father from local stone and lime mortar.
‘It was a block back from the foreshore and the view from the kitchen window, out over the water and the jetty was beautiful,’ Daphne says.
Roy was very community-minded and was involved in many local clubs. He even donated a piece of land to the Tumby Bay Church of Christ, where the church has created a campsite. Daphne regularly attended the church’s annual Women’s Camp that was held there.
‘Dad said to me one day, “Daphne, we need to get you out of the house.” So, he took me to the bowls club, and to cut a long story short, I ended up as the Secretary and Treasurer of the club,’ Daphne says.
In a similar story, when Tumby Bay lost its baker, Daphne and her parents took on the role of baking pasties each weekend.
‘I would make the pastry the night before,’ Daphne says. ‘And my friend, who I knew from Brock’s General Store, would come over. She would cut the onions, and my dad would dice the potatoes – keeping them finely chopped to make the pasties moist and tender.’
Daphne says that by mid-afternoon they would have 5-dozen pasties baked in the oven, which they would sell for 10 cents each to raise money for the Tumby Bay Hospital Auxiliary. Through this work, Daphne became more involved with the Auxiliary and, over time, did a lot of fundraising for the hospital.
Roy was also an active member of the Tumby Bay Senior Citizens club – or the ‘Senior Citz’ as it is known. He came home one day and mentioned to Daphne that the lady who was running it was finishing up.
‘To cut a long story short, I became the President of the club!’ Daphne says.
There is a seat on the verandah with her name on it. Daphne’s community efforts were formally acknowledged in 2001 when she was awarded Tumby Bay's Citizen of the Year Award.
The trip of a lifetime
In 1988, Daphne and her father visited the United States of America.
‘My sister-in-law, who was from Fort Wayne, Indiana, was staying with us, and when she left she made a comment that we should think about going over for a trip,’ Daphne says. ‘We had a letter from her a little while later, and I read it out to my father. In it she said, “I hope you’re still planning to come over”. My dad turned to me and said “Well, why not!”.’
Roy was 88 at the time, and Daphne was 64.
‘Dad checked with his doctor, who said there was no reason he shouldn’t go, so we flew to Los Angeles where we met my sister-in-law and we went to San Diego, as well as to Chicago and Fort Wayne,’ Daphne says. ‘We took the Amtrak train to Niagara Falls and got in a boat to see it all up close. We also visited the Grand Canyon and took in the beauty there, before stopping at Honolulu and then flying back to Australia.’
Daphne says her dad was particularly interested in the farming at Fort Wayne.
‘It was interesting to see the machinery there, and to see the way they worked their farms,’ Daphne says. ‘It was very different to Tumby Bay!’
Sadly, Roy died in his 103rd year, and Daphne says that good genes are certainly playing a part in her longevity as well.
In her home at Hillside Retirement Village, Heathfield, Daphne is an active member of the community. Using the skills she learnt in floral art arranging at the Tumby Bay Soldier’s Memorial Hall, Daphne creates floral arrangements for all the residents to enjoy in communal areas of the home. She has also regularly played the piano for the church services and sing-alongs. A keen knitter, Daphne attends the village’s Knit and Natter group each Monday. She also bakes something each week to share with the other residents at ‘Club One’ – a weekly gathering for drinks and nibbles, and a friendly game of pool.
‘They all love a homemade biscuit,’ Daphne says.
She often joins in the daily Rummikub game as well.
‘We are a community that is close,’ Daphne says. ‘We are like an extended family. We know everybody.
Daphne is assisted to live in her home with support from Resthaven. She has six grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren who have all been invited to attend her 100th birthday celebration, along with other residents at the village, friends and acquaintances. Her brother and sister-in-law, who still live in Tumby Bay, have also been invited.
‘The changes have been gradual over my lifetime,’ Daphne says. ‘Every generation is different, but technology has made a big difference to people’s lives. All the same, people need good parents to guide them and help them make wise choices.’
Congratulations on your 100th birthday Daphne! We hope you enjoy your celebration.
Join 10,000+ subscribers for the latest news
