Topsy

Topsy was born and raised at Wolseley, a once-bustling town near Bordertown where the gauge changed on the railway line. Educated to the end of primary school, as a child she was up at 4am boiling the copper and doing housework before starting work at 8am at the local shop.

She married and had two sons and ran a store at Wolseley – selling groceries and petrol, and doing the Mail Run three times a week out through farms in the region.

At 36 she moved to Adelaide because the railway stopped going to the South East and Wolseley and its work opportunities shrunk.

For 50 years Topsy arranged the Wolseley reunion in Adelaide. At the 50th and final reunion 300 people turned up, and the people of Wolseley unveiled a plaque at the local Community Centre with her name on it.

Topsy is a Helping Hand Home Care client. She has a worm farm, coordinates morning tea at her church, had a truck licence, learned the organ at 50, loves the theatre and is a passionate Crows fan.

Return to News