Eileen celebrates 100th birthday
Drouin resident Eileen Tonkin is our newest centenarian after celebrating her 100th birthday with little fuss last week.
Eileen, who enjoys a nip of brandy and cheese on crackers for morning tea, celebrated with family at Brandy Creek Winery on Monday, June 29.
A resident at Amberlea, Eileen said she didn’t want “a lot of fuss” upon reaching the milestone.
She credits her long life to strong family support and love, as well as consideration for others.
Eileen is a former Warragul pennant bowls player and has a love of gardening.
A post-war baby, Eileen was born at home in Box Hill on June 29, 1920. She was the third of four children born to Mary and Jack Franz.
Large family gatherings and annual camping holidays on the Rosebud foreshore form the setting of Eileen’s childhood memories. She has strong recollections of her mother baking for weeks prior to the camping trip and visits from the Chinese market gardener who supplied fresh produce to the campers.
Eileen attended Box Hill Primary School before transferring to be one of the first students at Box Hill South Primary School upon it opening. She still talks of walking across the paddocks to school.
Her secondary education was at Box Hill Girls Tech.
With the outbreak of war in 1939, Eileen worked at the Commonwealth’s Note Printing Branch in Victoria Parade, East Melbourne and enjoyed an active social life. This included dances around the suburbs and the wellknown Powerhouse next to Albert Park Lake. It was here that she met a young sailor from Sydney.
Peter Tonkin went to war in 1942. On his return and demobilisation, they became engaged.
They married in November 1946 and had children Ray and Glenda.
Peter worked for the Commonwealth Bank in suburban branches. However, in 1955, decided to take a promotion to a country branch. They lived in towns including Morwell (one year), Leongatha (nine years), Ararat, Swan Hill, Belmont, Geelong and Numurkah.
On shifting to Warragul in the early 1980s, Eileen announced that it would be her last move.
After Peter’s sudden death in 1985, Eileen established herself in Warragul and a new house in Affleck St.
Her growing tribe of grandchildren – currently seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren - became the centre of her world. She also played pennant bowls for Warragul until she was 80, enjoyed Probus bus trips and the occasional trip to catch up with family in Western Australia, and loved her garden.
In 2017, she moved to Amberlea in Drouin. Whilst this move posed difficulties in coming to terms with a certain loss of independence, she is grateful for the care and attention.