JourneyOnline
Miriam Schmierer celebrated her super-centenarian110th birthday with family and friends at Blue Care’s Masters Lodge on Thursday, 20 August.
The great, great grandmother is believed to be the oldest resident in Queensland. Mrs Schmierer is remarkable, her state of health is enviable and she has been lucky to go through life with very little health problems.
Mrs Schmierer has seen more than her fair share of change. She has lived through three centuries, seen two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Industrial Revolution and Technological Revolution, and witnessed the rein of three British Monarchs.
She puts her longevity down to her outlook on life. "My main interest is my spiritual life, my faith," she said. “Because of my age I have had more opportunity to spread the word about my faith and the benefits of living a Christian life. I’m very fortunate to still have my memory and be able to write."
Mrs Schmierer enjoys sharing her stories and opinions with others and pens a column in the Blue Care Masters Lodge newsletter, she has not missed an edition for 15 years. She also writes regularly to family and friends.
A humble woman born and bred on a dairy farm at Mt Whitestone near Gatton, she spent her married life on farms at Gayndah and Maleny. She married in 1925, her husband was a cream carrier who later turned to dairy cattle. The couple had two sons, Austin and Mervyn, who went on to have eight children between them.
Mrs Schmierer looks back on her life as a farmer’s wife with great fondness: "I love the country it is so beautiful and the people are so warm and genuine. The cattle were my interest. Animals are great to work with – they listen and obey. They are God’s creatures to be kindly treated.”
After selling the farm at Maleny, Mrs Schmierer and her husband retired to Torquay in 1961. After her husband’s death in 1965, she turned her life to helping others and is reaping the reward of that work today.
For the past 17 years Mrs Schmierer has resided at Blue Care’s Masters Lodge in Hervey Bay. Sadly, her sons passed away in recent years.
Read The Chronicle story here or read the 2008 The Courier Mail story on Mrs Schmierer here.
