The advancing years of Drake Village legend Edna Lawrence might have required a relocation to Millrace Hostel up in Tenterfield, but Edna's recent centenary milestone is a great opportunity to celebrate her many decades of service to the Drake community.
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Edna has almost come full circle, born June 4 1920 just up the road from Millrace at what was then Torquay Private Hospital.
Her parents Joe and Jane Pattinson were soon after to be officially installed at Drake Post Office, then sited where the Lunatic Hotel is now. Mr Pattinson was a manager at nearby Red Rock Mine but was named Drake Postmaster in 1924, although it was Mrs Pattinson doing most of the work with a young Edna keeping a close eye on operations.
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The oldest of three sisters, Edna was a lover of nature and adventure and spurned the thought of marriage and children. A stint of nurse training at Royal North Shore Hospital in obstetrics, however, soon fixed that and then she met future husband Pat while working as a nursing sister at Armidale Hospital.
They married in 1944 after Pat returned from WW2 and went on to have seven children of their own.
The couple took over the Drake Post Office (which by then included the local telephone exchange) in 1947 and worked it together, along with a nearby cattle property.
When her child-rearing duties eased Edna explored her artistic talents in a variety of media while also being very involved in community organisations.
A fire in 1983 burned out the post office along with the Drake School of Arts, and post office duties moved to a house across the road. Even after her retirement as postmistress at the age of 85 she maintained an interest in the local postal service, assisting at the Drake Village Resource Centre when possible.
Her contributions to the Drake community earned her a well-deserved Tenterfield Shire citizenship award in 2003.
While Pat sadly passed away in 2000, the couple's seven children have now expanded the extended family into 20 grandchildren and 31 great grandchildren, spread far and wide.
While COVID-19 precautions precluded a big gathering to celebrate Edna's 100th birthday in June, her children were able to share a glass or two of Moet champagne with her as they read through the many messages of congratulations and well-wishes.
Official birthday greetings were received from all levels of government (federal: Barnaby Joyce, state: Janelle Saffin and local: Peter Petty), from Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Governor-General David Hurley, Minister for Veteran Affairs Darren Chester and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
Of course there were also many cards from family and friends, lots of fresh flowers and an impressive birthday cake.
Edna studied music as a girl, having inherited her love of music from her grandfather. Although the years may have dimmed her recall of more recent events she can still entertain with renditions of songs from her past, as she did on her birthday.
In her 100 years Edna has spent only a few of them away from her beloved Drake. Her history entwined with that of the village will be evident for many years to come.
