Rose ready to celebrate a century well lived

ROSE Camiller was born on January 15 1922, in Dulwich, South East London, and you can still hear it in her slight accent.

She has been settled in Victoria for 63 years now, and has lived in Torquay for the past 12 with her daughter and son-in-law Margaret and John Penza.

In a few weeks Rosie will celebrate her 100th birthday in her Torquay home, surrounded by family and friends.

At 99 she still does her own shopping, takes walks with her daughter Margaret, and gardens a little.

To her 10 great-grandchildren, she is affectionately known as Rosie.

Her daughter Margaret said family is the centre of Mrs Camiller’s world and while she has outlived many loved ones, including her beloved husband, Peter, and son, Peter Junior, she has adopted many in the community as family.

“Our friends have somewhat adopted Nan as their Nan too, and we’re happy with that as is she,” Mrs Penza said.

“As a Nan, she fills her now adult grandchildren’s lives with stories, dancing and song, often singing to them until they fell asleep and telling stories that we will always treasure and pass onto our children.”

Mrs Camiller’s husband Peter was from Malta. The two met in England, married at 17 and eventually settled in Australia.

“A lot of people ask ‘how did you meet?’ because in those days there wasn’t a lot of Maltese in England. We met in my mother’s kitchen, over a cup of tea, nothing romantic.” Mrs Camiller said.

“We got married young in those days too, which was stupid, but we were in love. I was married just before the war, in 1939, early 1939, and my mother said when my husband and I got married we caused the world war.”

Their first son, Peter Junior, was born in 1940, just before her husband went to war for four years.

“My son was a baby when he left and a schoolboy when his dad come back. That was life in those days,” Mrs Camiller said.

Her and her son were very close, having lived through the war together and when he moved to Australia in 1957 as a 17-year-old, the family followed him over a year later.
“I didn’t like him being over here and us over there so then we came just a year after him,” Mrs Camiller said.

“We weren’t family without all being together.”

In Australia, Mrs Camiller lived in Airport West and then Sunbury, before moving to Torquay.

Until her retirement, she worked as a sewing machinist, sewing parachutes, chairs and more.

The family remained close, eventually parted only by death. Rose and Peter had been married 57 years when he passed away in 1996.

Last year, Mrs Camiller also lost her son Peter during the pandemic. Mrs Camiller reflects on this time with deep sadness.

For 12 weeks Mrs Camiller, John and Margaret couldn’t get a pass to visit Peter in his final days.

“We couldn’t really say goodbye,” Mrs Camiller said.

“It took so long to be able to get the pass, we were only there for 20 minutes before he died, but at least I was there.”

Mrs Camiller remains close to her daughter, and spends her days with family, and her small dog, Poppy, tending to her garden and going for walks.

“It’s lovely living in Torquay,” Mrs Camiller said.

“I go to the sea “with my daughter, I don’t go on my own anymore.

“But they used to send out the search parties for me I’d been gone so long.

“But now I’m tied down. But I can’t complain, I’m pretty fit for me age.”

Just the other week Mrs Camiller was walking through Torquay Woolworths pushing her trolley and unloading her shopping when an employee asked her age to which she replied “99, soon to be 100”.

Mrs Camiller said she laughed at the lady’s shock.

“I’m just lucky so far and I hope I stay lucky,” she said.

On Saturday, January 15, Rose Camiller’s 100th birthday will be the celebration of a century well lived.

Mrs Penza said family and friends will come from near and far to wish their Nan a happy 100th birthday.

“It’s always been a simple life,” Mrs Penza said.

“To many she is a neighbour, friend, aunt, sister, mum, nan. But to all, she is “our amazing Rosie”.