Generous Mavis lived a joyous life full of love
Well-known gardener will be missed
MAVIS Elsie Harrold was born in Toowoomba on August 23, 1923.
Her parents were Percy Charles Harrold and his wife Elsie Catherine Elizabeth (nee) Wecker.
Percy worked on the railways and was posted to various locations throughout Queensland.
Mavis was the third child in the family after Edgar (Tiny or Ted) and Arnold (Jim) and the eldest of four sisters Marie, Betty and Clementine. The youngest child Stella was stillborn on September 12, 1939.
Mavis had a childhood which took her to various places in Queensland, but most of her life was in Toowoomba.
Some schooling was in Toowoomba, and some in Murphy’s Creek, down the range where her father drove the daily train to and from Gatton; turning it around on a specially designed triangular shunting line, which is still present to the south of Murphys Creek Railway Station today.
She loved playing tennis and was very accomplished musically, particularly with the piano and the guitar.
Her voice was described as “the voice of an angel”, particularly when she sang in Toowoomba City Hall.
Mavis was a capable and sought after worker, including working in the Butter Factory and at the Foundry in Toowoomba.
She also worked at the Aero Club in the office, including ordering new spare parts for local aircraft.
During the early part of the Second World War, her father was stationed in Hughenden well west of Townsville.
His job was to drive trains east and west along the line carrying thousands of troops and their supplies and equipment.
In 1941 an itinerant Evangelist Pastor Theo Anderson arrived in Hughenden where he ministered under difficult conditions.
Accommodation was at a premium, but he was invited to a local women’s prayer meeting where he met Elsie, Mavis’ mother and her daughters.
This was the first introduction for these deeply spiritual women to the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Mavis, whose spirituality exuded from her whole being, remained a Seventh-day Adventist till her death.
Ben Mundy soon arrived on the scene, never to leave.
Ben was three years older than Mavis and first proposed to her when she was 16.
They were eventually married on April 22, 1942, by an Assemblies of God pastor, Henry Excelsior Wiggins in Toowoomba.
Mavis would have been 18 going on 19, and Ben almost 22-years-old.
He was the love of her life and their romance was one that spanned more than 74 years.
Ben was in the Railways and his work kept them in Toowoomba the rest of their lives.
Their relationship could be classified as the romance that lived on at a high intensity for 74 years.
While Mavis was in Bupa Aged Care in Glenvale on May 2, Ben recorded a video message for her.
He too was bedridden at the time.
To illustrate the depth and consistency of their love, Ben wrote a letter on October 10, 2011. It describes a special day in their lives.
Mavis and Ben did not have children, but they both came from large families.
Not having children of their own, Mavis and Ben were always excited to have visits from their nieces and nephews.
Usually there was the squeal of delight and girlish giggle from Mavis along with a firm hug, followed by a crushing handshake from Ben.
They wanted to know what was happening in their lives and treated them as their own children.
With 20 nieces and nephews on Ben’s side and close to 25 on Mavis’ side, there were lots of visits, scones, cakes, fruit juice and hugs.
And of course there was the obligatory inspection of the garden; whether it was at the house in Ruthven St with its planned walled garden, or at Bexley Ct with its famous rocky hillside garden and lights.
The year 1959 was a special one, with the visit to Mavis’ house by royalty.
On her royal tour through Australia that year Princess Alexandra stopped by the prizewinning Ruthven St house for a visit with Mavis and Ben.
Later, on their massive reconstruction of 2 Bexley Court, with its multi-toned rock reconstruction, Mavis held court with thousands of visitors.
Bus tours, private party visits and Garden of Flowers tours were used by Mavis and Ben to raise multi-thousands of dollars for various charities.
The Toowoomba Chronicle puts the figures raised for charity at over $100,000.
Everyone was met with the smile, the infectious laugh, and the generosity that was Mavis.
Any television program or household magazine to do with gardening has, at some time visited Bexley Ct to do stories on Ben and Mavis and their fabulous garden.
During her last months, Mavis received excellent care from the Church of Christ Carers who helped out on a daily basis at home before Mavis left to go to Bupa Aged Care.
The description of her care there, by family, is one of admiration and thanks for both these organisations, and particularly the individuals involved for their kindness and compassion in administering her care.