What do you get a 100-year-old who wanted to skydive for their 90th birthday? A helicopter joy flight of course.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This is what Merle Phillipps will do to celebrate her birthday after she turns 100 on Friday.
She came to Maitland 13 years ago but was born in a place called Thornton, Queensland.
After she finished school Mrs Phillipps worked as a teacher’s aide with her father but when World War II broke out she enlisted as a nurse.
She was planning to head overseas to help but family circumstances meant that she stayed in Queensland to help the troops coming back from Papau New Guinea.
Mrs Phillipps trained in blood work and worked alongside Lieutenant-Colonel Vivian Bullwinkel.
Towards the end of the war she met Max Phillipps, who she was married to for 31 years before he died in 1980.
After the war Mr Phillipps gained employment with ASIO which took the pair on a lot of adventures.
They lived in United Kingdom for several years, where Mrs Phillipps gave birth to their daughter Jenny.
While in the UK, Mrs Phillips met the Queen at one of her garden parties at Buckingham Palace.
Mrs Phillipps’ son Tony also recalled Russian spies and communists being in the house while he and his sister were growing up.
After Mrs Phillipps lost her husband, she did not lose her sense of adventure.
She travelled overseas by herself several times, learned to speak French and became a keen bridge player.
Mrs Phillipps moved to Ashton Gardens 13 years ago to be close to family in Maitland.
She lived independently until 2015 when she became the first person to register to live at Opal Rutherford.
The secret to health and longevity according to Mrs Phillipps is home-made beer, which she used to brew in rubbish bins in the back yard with her husband, and “a whisky a night”.
Mrs Phillipps said she was very grateful for the life she has lived so far. She will spend her birthday at a high tea at Mansfield House followed by her helicopter ride on Saturday.