‘Live well’: Dos Hanson celebrates 100 years

The Milgate kids grew up on a property about 30km north of the town, walking one and a half miles (2.4km) across paddocks to school with their ponies.

In 1936, the family took over Dos’ grandfather’s farm about 6km north of Moama.

Dos first attended Tatalia School, moving to the Echuca Technical School when the former closed down.

After school, Dos worked at a grocery store, where she impressed.

“The girl in the office was to be married, so the boss said I could stay behind the counter until she got married, then I could go into the office,” she said.

“He said I was too good with the customers to put in the office, so I stayed there until they closed, which was about five years.

“Then I went across to the office at a hardware place, and I got three pound, five shilling a week.”

In 1948, both aged 23, Dos and Norm Hanson married on December 11.

The pair knew each other growing up, and Dos’ brother Murray married Norm’s sister Rita.

They moved to Norm’s parents’ dairy farm at Ballendella, eventually taking it over when the in-laws moved into Rochester.

“Both of us (milked the cows), Norm was the main one,” Dos said.

“He’d have two or three cows milked by the time I got down there with a cup of tea.”

There, they built their life together, welcoming Glen in 1950, Pauline in 1952 and Janice in 1953.

Away from milking the cows and caring for the children, Dos always stayed active, successfully playing tennis, bowls and golf.

“I’ve done a lot in my time,” she said.

“Tennis and golf and bowls, I’ve been champion of them all.”

Dos also helped start the Ballendella Red Cross, running street stalls and meetings for more than 60 years.

They also organised blood drives every three months.

“I joined in with anything that was in Ballendella,” Dos said.

“Red Cross, the mothers’ club, tennis, whatever that was going on.”

When her kids had grown up, Dos explored the country and the world.

She went on trips to the Northern Territory, Queensland, the South Pacific, New Zealand and Europe.

“She was really annoyed when she did the South Pacific,” daughter Janice said.

“She thought she would be the oldest person on the ship because she was 92, and there was someone older.”

Cruising down the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers from Amsterdam to Budapest was a particular highlight for Dos.

“I just sat on the boat and went down the river,” she said.

In total, Dos has nine grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.

Dos attributes her longevity to living an active, hands-on life.

“I worked darn hard when I was on the farm,” she said.

“My dad used to say, ‘hard work never kills anybody’.

“There’s no secret about it, just live well.”