Teeing off on the first hole of the Mount Gambier Golf Club has been one of life’s great pleasures for Resthaven Limestone Coast Community Services client Mrs Isobel Phillips (nee Grayson), who turns 100 on 31 July.
Some healthy competition, being amongst nature and a chance to stay fit all come together in Isobel’s love for the game, and her mastery of golf saw her win two gold, two silver and one bronze medal at the 2011 Naracoorte Masters Games.
Isobel began playing in 1972, and in 1979 she joined the Mount Gambier Golf Club. She enjoyed many years of golf, but sadly, on ANZAC Day in 2016 Isobel fell and dislocated her shoulder, bringing her golfing to an end.
‘I wish I could still play golf, but due to my shoulder injury I no longer can,’ Isobel says. She remains on the golf club committee, enjoying the social activities and goings on.
Early years
Born in Warrnambool, Victoria in 1924, Isobel’s grandparents originally moved from Ireland to Queensland, before settling in Victoria.
The youngest of three children, Isobel had an older brother and sister. Sadly, her sister died at the age of just 12, following a fall.
Attending Warrnambool State High School, Isobel went on to Warrnambool Technical College to finish her education. Her skills served her well, and while still at school, she was regularly employed for six-week stints at the local council when the Town Clerk Officer took leave.
‘I would take six weeks off from school and go and work in the office,’ Isobel says. ‘And then I’d return to school and pick up where we left off.’
With the outbreak of World War II, Isobel felt the pull to ‘do her bit’ and on 26 January 1943, at the age of 18, Isobel journeyed to Melbourne to sign up to the Australian Women’s Army Service.
‘I worked in the army office doing paperwork for promotions and transfers,’ Isobel says.
Around that time, she met her husband-to-be, Chic Phillips.
‘He was doing an Officer’s Course at a hotel in Melbourne where I was doing secretarial work for the army,’ Isobel says. ‘There were four men and four of us girls. I said “I’ll have the blonde one” and it all started from there.’
Chic, who had signed up with the army in 1941, caught malaria when he was stationed in New Guinea. He overcame the disease, but it left him with life-long health problems.
On 21 August 1946, Isobel was discharged from the army, and soon after she and Chic were married in Warrnambool. They had two children, Richard and Susan.
‘I had a good life in the army,’ Isobel says. ‘I enjoyed it very much.’
The Phillips and Fletcher Jones
Once out of the army, Chic found employment at Fletcher Jones in Warrnambool, along with several other servicemen. Initially employed to make trousers, Chic rose through the ranks to become a section supervisor and in 1972 he was needed at Mount Gambier to establish a new Fletcher Jones factory there.
Naturally, Isobel moved with him, and it wasn’t long before Isobel’s administration skills were again sought after, and she took up a part time role as an office worker at the factory.
The children stayed in Victoria, continuing their studies. ‘My kids did very well at school,’ Isobel says.
After high school, Susan attended Ballarat School of Mines to complete her teaching degree. She recently retired but has been asked to come up one day a week. Richard went to university to also study teaching but had to leave due to hearing damage caused by having mumps as a child. He is now a journalist in Sydney.
Sadly, Chic died suddenly from a heart attack in 1978, a result of the damage caused by the malaria decades before.
Reflecting back
Still living in her own home in Mount Gambier, supported by Resthaven and Veteran Affairs, Isobel is an active member of the community. Isobel was a member of the Mount Gambier Golf Club Committee until 2020, as well as being a life member of Probus – writing the club newsletter for the past 17 years.
“I was very lucky to go be asked to go overseas with friends on a few occasions,” Isobel says. “I visited Austria, England and Fiji, and even went on a golfing holiday to New Zealand. With my friend Marg, I also drove to the longest golf course in the world, which is across the Nullarbor. It cost us $50 and we had a great time.”
Driving until the age of 92, Isobel says she has never smoked, doesn’t drink much, and was physically fit for most of her life.
“Since I had my fall, I am more dependent on others,” Isobel says. ‘But I used to walk 5km every day – every day that I wasn’t playing golf, that is!’
An avid sewer and crafter, Isobel enjoys completing smaller knitted items, such as coat hanger covers, since her shoulder dislocation.
‘I still enjoy sewing when I can, and I do a lot of word searches,” Isobel says. “My niece gifted me a large book, which I am nearly finished.”
And her advice for the younger generation? “Stop getting into trouble and become involved in your community by volunteering or joining a club.”
Happy 100 th birthday Isobel. We hope you enjoy a wonderful celebration.
