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Five generations of one family gathered in Whyalla this week for a very special birthday party.
Whyalla’s Dorothy Branson (nee Holmes) turned 100 on Thursday this week and was surrounded by her large family for the special occasion including her great, great granddaughter.
Dorothy’s loving family includes four children (Eugene, Margaret, Robert and Chris), nine grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and now little Ellie Rose Murphy, the daughter of great grandchild Brooke Scott.
The beaming smile, gentle touch and shine in Dorothy’s eyes said it all as she cuddled Ellie Rose (above) on Friday during one of the many family visits this week at the Whyalla Aged Care centre.
Dorothy only moved into the aged care centre early this year after spending several years in an independent living unit. It was here that she kept herself busy in recent years and embarked upon one remarkable project.
After moving into her unit, Dorothy set about knitting more than 350 jumpers for needy children in Africa. Cobbling them together from bits of wool donated to the cause, it was an amazing effort for a grand lady in her late nineties.
Another of her interests has been football and she confesses to be an Adelaide Crows fan.
“But I’m not one of those ‘mad’ supporters,” Dorothy said with a smile.
So what is Dorothy’s secret to living to such a grand age?
“I’ve always been a good girl,” she said with a cheeky glint in her eye.
“I keep out of mischief and like to keep myself busy.
“Like the jumpers, that was a good past time on a winter’s night.”
After 99 winters, Dorothy has slowed down a bit now but still enjoys good health after beating off a chest infection just recently.
Dorothy was born in Angaston in the Barossa Valley on August 24, 1917. Her grandfather had settled there initially and ran teams of horses and a blacksmith’s shop. The family owned much of the land at the top of the main Murray Street in Angaston which is now the former Angas Park Fruit Company site.
Marrying Jack Branson at Kapunda in 1939, the couple started their family and first moved to Whyalla in 1964 to be with son Eugene who had scored a job with BHP. Jack went to work on the wharves and the family settled into a house on McEwin Street.
When Jack retired in the mid 1980s, the couple moved back to Angaston to be closer to old friends. Jack died in 1994 aged 87 with Dorothy staying on in the Barossa Valley until 1999 when she moved back to Whyalla to be with family.
With the help of her family, she bought a trust house in Litchfield St, attached to her daughter Margaret Hill’s house. She stayed there until moving into her independent unit.
Mayor Lyn Breuer paid tribute to Dorothy during a visit to her at the aged care centre on Friday. It was a special morning for the mayor as she not only met Dorothy but she got to see a great, great grandchild for the first time.
“I just love to meet people like Dorothy, she is like a book of great stories,” Mayor Breuer said.
“Dorothy is an amazing lady and comes from an amazing generation.
“She is so beautiful and it was so beautiful to see her with her wonderful little great, great granddaughter.”
In a room overflowing with her family the day after her birthday, Dorothy was still chuffed to have received a letter from the Queen but said her best memory was having her family there for her 100th.
“It was a wonderful birthday, so nice to have so many of my family here,” she said.
Pictured, above right, is the five generations of the Branson family: Dorothy Branson's great granddaughter Brooke Scott holding her daughter and great, great granddaughter Ellie Rose, granddaughter (and Brooke's mum) Janene Torrance, Dorothy, son (and Janene's dad) Eugene Branson with Whyalla Mayor Lyn Breuer.