With a quickness of step, sharp wit and an easy laugh, Mrs Edith Reiner is ringing in her 100th birthday with no signs of slowing down.
The Resthaven Marion Community Services client, who turns 100 on 13 August, lives in her own home with support from Resthaven, still has her driver’s licence, and has an active social life – regularly chatting with friends she has had for close to 70 years.
For Edith, things have changed a lot since her youth, when she grew up in Germany, enjoying an idyllic childhood with her three sisters and brother.
‘My father was Polish, and my mother was German,’ Edith says. ‘They were quite well off, so we never wanted for anything. I remember playing in the garden with my siblings and having a wonderful time. Of course, it was difficult growing up during the war.’
Edith says much of her schooling was disrupted by war, with many school days abruptly halted when everyone was advised to make their way into bomb shelters for protection.
As a young woman, Edith worked at a large shoe store in Germany. One day when she was travelling on the bus to work, Edith met her husband-to-be, Kurt. He was having a “day-out” from the convalescent hospital where he was recovering after being wounded on the Russian front, having caught a bullet under his heart.
The couple were married on 4 January 1945, and in the following years had three children: Marion, born in 1948, Lothar, born in 1951 and Raymond, born in 1953. A fourth child, Patricia, was born in 1957.
‘After the war, it was not easy to find work in Germany,’ Edith says. ‘A friend of ours had migrated to Australia a couple of years earlier, settling in Mount Gambier. He kept writing to us about how happy he was – the weather was always warm, and there was plenty of work – so we made the move.’
It was Christmas Eve 1955 when the family of five (Patricia still to be born) arrived in Australia. The children were aged 8, 4 and 2 and they had travelled by boat for five and a half weeks, surviving seasickness and forging friendships along the way. On the boat, Edith met Ilsa – a woman with whom she has a strong friendship – and they still speak several times a week.
Upon disembarking, the family were housed in a Nissen hut at Glenelg. There were around 500-600 other recently arrived migrants at the camp, and the Reiners lived there for two years.
‘I felt very homesick when we first arrived,’ Edith says. ‘We were going through such a lot, and I wanted the comfort of seeing family or friends – but we were hardly able to contact them. We didn’t have much help when we arrived. We didn’t have any work, and the worst part was that we couldn’t speak English, so we couldn’t even go out and ask for a job.’
Eventually, with the support of friends, the family was able to secure a home at Semaphore, then through the Housing Trust of South Australia moved to Camden and then to Morphettville, where Edith lived for 50 years until 2010. At this time, the home was demolished to make way for more modern housing, and Edith moved into a unit at Park Holme, where she still resides. Kurt died from a short illness in the 1990s, and Edith’s smaller home is easier for her to look after.
‘It was a big upheaval at the time, but it really has been the best thing,’ Edith says. ‘This home was brand new, and it suits me very well.’
Sewing the seams
Finding her feet, Edith worked for a while at the local supermarket, before demonstrating her sewing skills and earning a job at Rainsford’s, where she sewed seat belts for the automotive parts manufacturer. Edith worked there for around 15 years, before a repetitive stress injury resulting in carpal tunnel damage forced her to stop.
At the age of 52, she earnt her driver’s licence, giving her an independence and freedom she hadn’t experienced in Australia before. Still driving now, in recent years, she offered to be the local ‘taxi’ service for her surrounding neighbours when they needed transport to an appointment or similar outing.
Gardening, walking, cooking and crafts have kept Edith happy and busy throughout her life. She has knitted around 25 jumpers, as well as socks, hats and plenty of lap rugs and blankets, which colourfully decorate her home.
She is also a keen sewer, making her own lace curtains, as well as other items over the years, such as clothes for the children, and her own special outfit for her daughter’s wedding.
‘I still do some crocheting, but I can’t do a lot at a time,’ Edith says.
Edith has also enjoyed travel – often accompanying her friend, whose husband was part of the South Australian Liedertafel German men’s choir, when the group toured.
She has visited Darwin, Canberra and Cairns, as well as holidaying in Tasmania, where Lothar and his family lived for a time. Lothar has now moved to the Tamborine Mountains in Queensland, and Edith is working out the logistics to visit him there.
Edith has travelled back to Germany four times over the years, as well as hosting her German family when they have visited her in Australia. One of her favourite things to do these days is look back through the photographs she has taken over the years and enjoy reminiscing about good times spent at different locations with family and friends.
Edith also enjoys chatting with friends and family on the phone, and three nieces in Germany still phone her regularly. Gabi, who lives in Sundern in Germany, phones most Sunday evenings and they often speak for over an hour.
Edith’s beautiful garden is a source of joy for her, and she spends time caring for it, along with a gardener who visits regularly. She also enjoys going for a walk and makes time to do so most days. An accomplished cook, Edith enjoys making and eating the German food that brings her memories of her childhood, although she doesn’t do so very often anymore.
‘There has been nothing special about what I do,’ Edith says modestly. ‘I’ve just lived! I’ve always enjoyed being active and eating well, as well as being involved with the children and friends.’
Edith and her family will celebrate Edith’s 100 birthday with a party, where her children, 9 grand-children and 7 great-grandchildren all hope to be in attendance. Happy birthday Edith! We hope you enjoy your celebrations!
