LOCAL woman Irene Lucy Warmington will reach the grand milestone of turning 100 this Monday.
Mrs Wamington is one of the select few people who can say they have received a personal letter of congratulations from both The Queen and Tony Abbott.
“The Queen letter was very nice but the Tony Abbott letter has divided the family” Mrs Warmington’s daughter joked.
Growing up on a pineapple farm in Queensland Irene Warmington was the youngest of 10 children.
Having lived through the Second World War, she helped out her mother and father on the family farm whilst her brothers were away at war fighting on the front.
Irene met her husband at the end of the war and they married in Queensland in 1944.
The couple owned land in Bodallin, WA, where they relocated shortly after marrying to farm wheat and sheep.
After building up and selling the farm in Bodallin, the family relocated to another farm in Yorkrakine, where they raised their children.
Mrs Warmington has four children, ten grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren, all who are spread across the state.
She has always been a very hard worker having lived and worked on farms the majority of her life; she was always pitching in to help with labour, and one of her favourite motto’s has always been “hard worked never killed anybody.”
Irene moved to Collie three years ago to live with her daughter, and said she loves the community atmosphere here.
Mrs Warmington’s daughter said her mother is an amazing person who has lived through so much and has so many stories to tell from the changes in history she has seen in her time.
“She used to tell us stories about growing up in Queensland and how her grandparents came out from the UK in tiny boats and landed in Queensland where they were given three sheets of metal to for their shelter.”
Mrs Warmington’s family are holding a celebration for her milestone birthday this weekend where family and friends will attend.
