100!!! Not only is today Alan’s 100th birthday, but he is the 100th golden age portrait that I’ve captured! His lovely niece had collected him from his aged care facility nearby to bring him back home to Brightwaters to celebrate his 100th birthday. He had to go into care in December, and the house will soon be packed up and sold, sadly… Alan Henry Timbs was born in September 1926 in Lismore. He grew up on a small dairy farm, where both of his parents worked hard raising cows and running the farm. He was an only child. Alan had a large extended family, with lots of cousins and plenty of family time. As a child, he was quite nervous, something he remembers vividly from his first day of school when he was so anxious that he wet his pants. His school was a small local school with only around 12–14 children and one teacher, Alan said he walked to school barefoot. The teacher rode his horse approximately three or four miles to get to school. Growing up in the local community, there was always plenty happening, to entertain themselves the other local children would throw stones at the telegraph poles. Alan also developed a love of cricket. He was a good cricketer and enjoyed the sport throughout his life. After leaving school at 14, Alan continued working on the dairy farm. He was involved in all aspects of farm life, particularly milking the cows and helping wherever he was needed. He eventually had two farms of his own, spending approximately 25 years on his first farm. They then moved to Rosebank at Lismore. He met his future wife Audrey in Sydney, she was a school teacher and worldly woman. Alan said they were at a garden party, and she said she liked the look and build of him . He was very shy still and said he was naive and only learnt of the works happenings from Readers Digest. Alan said his wife was a painter and so was her Mother. Her art works still line the walls of their house and garage. In 1973, Alan married Audrey, Alan was 43, so quite long in the tooth by that stage he said. Audrey was also older when they married, and due to working with intellectually disabled children, and knowing the risks of having babies in later life, they decided against having children. Audrey will celebrate her 93rd birthday in November and is now living in a nursing home with dementia. Unfortunately she doesn’t recognise Alan, which is very hard. Alan and Audrey enjoyed many wonderful experiences together, particularly travelling. The house I took the images in today at Brightwaters they’ve lived in for 30 years. They took lots of overseas holidays and, at one stage, spent a whole year travelling around Australia in a caravan. Their travels gave them the opportunity to see much of the country and create many lasting memories. Alan has always enjoyed keeping active and pursuing his interests. Golf, bowls and cricket have all been important parts of his life. He has also enjoyed bird watching, photography and taking an interest in the natural world around him
