A long life by the sea

Sheila Mary Currie was born on March 2, 1923, just a few years after the worst of the Spanish flu pandemic had subsided. She was the second eldest with fourth brothers and a father who was a proud ‘Iceberger’ – a nickname only given to those who swam year round at the Brighton Baths.

Her father was the headmaster at Brighton State School and his teaching would later take the family to the tiny town of Forrest, the gateway to the Otway ranges. In those days Forrest was a genuine milling town and Sheila would tell stories of timber trams and trains running through the town and off into the bush.

The family scraped through during the Depression in the late 20s and early 30s. Money was tight and when government cut teacher’s wages, her father was forced to take a holiday job as a night carter. Sheila remembers the polio epidemic shortly after this and spoke of lockdown like conditions with schools shutting and people told to stay inside.

When World War Two reached Australia in the late 1930s, Sheila found her tertiary education at Melbourne Teachers College interrupted and suddenly she was helping the National war effort, trench digging in Royal Park and making bullets in what she described as “noisy and oily” factories near the Maribyrnong river.

After her studies, Sheila took a job in Kaniva, a small town in Victoria’s far north. In those days, the station names had been removed to disorient any invading Japanese forces. An unexpected by-product of this was disorienting new residents, and on one memorable trip, Sheila missed her stop and slept and uncomfortable night in the waiting room of the next station, in Border Town.

Sheila and Don Currie were married and seven children would follow. In 1956, the family settled in Queenscliff, where Don worked as hydrographic surveyor for Ports and Harbours. It was around this time that Sheila developed a deep passion for golf. By 1969 she was a member of the Torquay Golf Club and such was her fervour for the sport that Don rigged up a golf ball on a string, so she could practice her shots in the back yard – and that is where you would likely find her.

Devastatingly Don would pass away in 1973 and following this Sheila started teaching again, this time at Newtown Primary School. She also enrolled he

rself in a number of volunteering rolls, particularly at St Therese’s Catholic church, St Vincent de Paul op shop, local mother’s clubs and as a canteen helper.

During this time her love of golf only continued to flourish and was soon recognised by the Torquay Golf Committee where she served as captain in the 1990s. She won many competitions and tournaments and incredibly, at the age of 92 won the Ken Sizer Cup, which would be her last trophy.

Sheila spent her retirement travelling extensively with her close friend Hilda or brother Bob, eventually moving to Star of the Sea retirement village, where she became a member of the RSL floral society.

Sheila passed away on 2nd December 2020 and is survived by six children.