Family and friends celebrate Stud’s 100th birthday

STUDLEY “Stud” Cornes loved inventing things when he was younger.

Speaking at their dad’s 100th birthday party at the weekend, sons Kym, Graham and Wayne told guests of his ability to make light of hard work.

They said the former roof tiler invented an elevator that could transport 24 tiles up to the roof at any one time.

“It was also amazing to hear how they didn’t have any OH&S back then and everyone is still alive,” granddaughter Briony Roberts joked.

About 50 family and friends celebrated Stud’s 100th birthday, which was on Tuesday, at The Heads in Barwon Heads on Sunday afternoon.

Mrs Roberts described the event as a gorgeous afternoon with lots of beautiful food and drinks, and was a great opportunity to catch up with family from interstate.

“Grandpa has always played the harmonica so we presented him with a nice new one,” she said.

“He played it for us and remembered all the songs, he had everyone mesmerised.”

Mrs Roberts said her Grandpa and Grandma Alice, who was 90 years old, coped very well throughout the celebrations.

“Grandpa stayed awake the whole time and remembered everyone’s names, and even corrected anything that wasn’t correct in the speeches!

“He was absolutely there.”

Stud and his wife Alice used to live on a farm in Connewarre and also worked at his sons’ mussel farm in Portarlington until the age of 87.

He now resides at Geelong Aged Care in Grovedale.