Nancy Walsh has achieved a lot in her 100 years, but she lists her greatest achievement as being chosen to serve the Queen during Her Majesty’s second visit to Melbourne in 1963.
Mrs Walsh, who was working at the Hotel Windsor, was hand-chosen by management to wait on the Queen when she visited Flemington Racecourse.
“They sent a big car to take me to Flemington and when I got there, I was introduced to the police officers who were guarding the area,” she says.
“I remember there being pink begonia flowers that matched the Queen’s dress.
“When I got back to the Windsor, the ladies came up to me and said, ‘I would love to have done what you did’.’’
Mrs Walsh was born in Hobart on September 17, 1914. She had four sisters and two brothers.
Heavily involved in sports as a child, she played in championship netball teams and won countless running medals, which she still treasures dearly.
She moved to Newport in 1921 before starting work at the Hotel Windsor.
Mrs Walsh says the secret to her longevity is that she has lived “a good life”.
“You should love everybody and live a good life,” she says.
“Prayer helps me. I am also so lucky to have my family … my son Stephen, my daughter-in-law [Antoinette] and my two granddaughters. I don’t know what I would do without them.”
Mrs Walsh will celebrate her 100th birthday next Wednesday with her friends and staff at Glendale Aged Care Hostel, before joining her family at Werribee Mansion on September 21.
