Sylvie Crosswell still young at heart at 104

Sylvie Crosswell has lived in the Northern Midlands of Tasmania for 104 years and could well be the region’s oldest resident.

Her memories of a simple, country life, especially raising a family on properties around Ross, make her smile and she’s adamant that clean living and lots of walking have promoted her longevity.

For the past three years Sylvie has been a resident of Toosey Aged Care in Longford, running rings around those much younger, taking an interest in the news of the day, exercising in the corridors and escaping at every opportunity, whether it’s to go blueberry picking with her family or visiting friends.

She still manages to do a bit of knitting and her squares have gone into Toosey’s prize-winning rugs at the Longford Show.

Sylvie turns 105 on October 25 and both her mobility and mind are amazing.          

Reclining in front of the fire at her good friend Jane Taylor’s Bishopsbourne home, newspaper clippings spread out across her knees, she chats away about the people who have come and gone in her life, their achievements and significant milestones, some recorded in the columns of print and the occasional grainy photo.

There are also a lot of pictures of sheep, reflecting her family’s connections to the superfine Merino properties of the district.

“She knows everyone!” Jane said matter-of-factly.

And no wonder, Sylvie has had the time to meet more people than most.

She grew up in Campbell Town, three houses up from the river in Bridge Street. 

As the eldest of 10 children, she copped the brunt of a busy, noisy, fun-filled household and there was no escaping helping with her younger siblings, especially after her schooling finished at age 14.

“Mum had a boy, then a girl, then boy, girl, boy, girl, boy – and then another boy which spoiled the pattern,” Sylvia laughed.

“Then who would have expected twin boys!”

Despite the twins being born 22 years after Sylvie, only the second youngest of the children, Keverell, is still alive, living in Wynyard.

“They were all born at home, with the midwives, until the last two,” she said.

“I remember mum giving birth one Christmas Eve, and I was worried we wouldn’t get a Christmas dinner – but the midwives took care of that, too.”

While her mum Alice was busy with the children, her dad Thomas, known to most as Jonk, was a Jack-of-all-trades, working on farms in the midlands and always in demand.

After finishing school with her Merit Certificate, Sylvie went to work at Gregg’s cafe for about four years before being sent to help out a widowed aunt in Melbourne for two years.

She said the city was a culture shock, with no one her age to befriend and no activities for girls.

It was a lonely time except for occasional visits from cousins and she was relieved to eventually return home to more exciting times, including meeting her husband Monty at a local dance.

They were soon married, when Sylvie was 21, and Monty, four years older, worked as a shearer and a rabbiter, with rabbits fetching good money at the time for their meat and pelts.

The couple eventually moved into accommodation at Ellenthorpe, Ross, in the early 1950s.

It was owned by the Brown family but a few years later Jane’s family, the Dowlings, bought the property, starting a life-long connection with the Crosswells.

“Our family owned Verwood at the time and when they purchased Ellenthorpe my parents moved there and Sylvie and Monty lived in another house nearby on the property,” Jane said.

“I was only about two at the time, and Sylvie was often my babysitter.”

Sylvie looked after Jane, her sister Ann and brother John when required, as well as raising three boys of her own – Greg, Peter (deceased) and Brendon.

She cooked on a wood stove, heated water in coppers, had no access to electrical appliances and the laundry and toilet were outside.

One day Sylvie was met with a snake on the laundry steps, which she promptly killed rather than risk the kids finding it. It was not the first time she had to dispatch a snake.

There were horses and dogs to look after, cows to milk, butter to make and food was mainly home grown.

Bread was delivered once a week with the mail and the Campbell Town Show was the highlight of the year.

Sylvie and Monty would drive a horse and jinker along the windy dirt road to Ross, passing through Williamwood – apparently there were many gates to open between Ellenthorpe and Ross.

“Later on we went to town on a motorbike,” Sylvie recalled.

“Monty would drive and two kids would sit between us on the seat and one on the back.

“I’d wrap a rug around us to keep warm but one day it got caught in the bike spokes and nearly caught on fire near the Lewisham corner.”

The Crosswells later moved to Woodland Park near Lemont where Monty worked for the Winspear family.

One of Sylvie’s fondest memories is of holidaying as a family in the car. They went as far as Darwin and Broome and then cut across to the red centre, the family packed into an old Morris station wagon without phones, four-wheel drive or air conditioning.

Sylvie considers herself to be lucky to have lived on farms, to raise a family in the country and have a kind, supportive husband by her side.

“He’s been gone 33 years now. And I loved him,” Sylvie said.