Aged care residents to share tales of yesteryear

INTERNATIONAL Day of Older Persons on Monday will be a special time for residents at Mercy Place Woree.

The aged care home is celebrating its seniors and the contributions they have made to their communities, with residents sharing tales about their interesting lives.

Among them is Canadian born 72-year-old Christine Gilmore, who met her husband while he was travelling through Canada.

She says it was love at first sight. “Three months later, we were moving to Australia and I was excited and scared at the same time,” says Christine, who subsequently worked as a taxi driver in Cairns.

“My family were worried about me leaving, but I looked on it as an exciting holiday. We travelled back via San Francisco, Honolulu, Fiji, Auckland, Sydney and Brisbane, making it to Cairns in 1970, where I have lived ever since.

“Since then, I’ve gone back to visit family about 12 times, but I wouldn’t live anywhere else but Cairns.

“Occasionally I think I miss it, but then remember the snow and how cold it is and also how much I love Cairns and the community here.”

Mercy Place Woree service manager Charlene Reyes says International Day of Older Persons is a perfect chance to recognise seniors like Christine. “There are many amazing residents like Chris at Mercy Place who have had incredibly interesting lives, and in some cases were born thousands of miles away from Australia.”