Te Puke’s Carter House resident Betty McMinn turns 100

Resident Betty McMinn, of Carter House, Te Puke, turned 100 yesterday.

Carter House yesterday hosted its second 100th birthday party in a month.

Resident Betty McMinn turned 100 just three weeks and a day after fellow resident Barbara Falconer did the same.

Betty’s has been a life that has taken her from spending her childhood and early married life living by the sea to living and working in England’s industrial north, to New Zealand and once again being near the coast.

She was born on Walney Island, Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, in England’s northwest.

Her parents met when her father, from Cumbria, went to watch Barrow play Burnley in a football match.

Betty’s first job was in a camera shop.

She was married to Mac and they already had a son, Alan, when Mac lost his job when the local shipyard closed.

In 1950, they moved to Rochdale in Lancashire where Mac got a job as a maintenance fitter and Betty started working in engineering, as a spring maker. It was a job she would have until she retired in her 60s.

Two more children, Christine and Sue, followed.

Christine says her mum has always been a kind-hearted and selfless lady who is “loved by everyone who knows her and cares for her”.

“We had a wonderful childhood even though Mum worked fulltime most of her married life. She was an engineer and made springs of all sizes. Our wonderful Nana Brown would come every day to watch us after school ‘til mum got home.”

Despite working, Betty loved to bake and was also a great home cook and always had hot meals on the table.

“She made most of our clothes as she loved sewing and knitting. I’ve no idea how she found the time,” says Christine.

Links to Barrow-in-Furness were not lost.

“Most of our early childhood holidays were spent in mum’s home town Barrow-in-Furness as my dad was in the Territorial Army and spent his holidays training. The plus side was Barrow was by the sea.”

Betty McMinn came to New Zealand with her daughter Sue 18 years ago.

Betty and Mac took the chance to travel overseas once their children had all married and left home.

“I still remember their first holiday overseas, how they both felt so overawed being at Manchester Airport that they missed their flight and had to catch the next one,” says Christine.

When Betty retired she started looking after her grandchildren. She would also go line dancing and made cakes for cake stalls.

“She was a real home bird but she liked going out with the family,” says Christine.

Mac died in 1994.

Christine moved to New Zealand in 2001, followed soon after by Sue and Betty.

“My sister came for a holiday and loved it, so she came [to live] and mum came with her — that was 18 years ago.”

Betty lived with Christine in Pāpāmoa, once again close to the sea.

In her early 90s, Betty had a minor stroke and since then has had dementia, which eventually led to her moving into Carter House.

“We were frightened of her wandering,” says Christine.

However, her personality hasn’t changed.

“She’s exactly the same as what she was.”

She loves singing and even now if you put Vera Lynn on she’ll sing to it.”

Christine says her mum never smoked and rarely drank: “She wouldn’t have it in the house”.

The family put a photo board together for yesterday’s birthday celebrations at Carter House and Betty received telegrams from King Charles III, Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.

“The King’s one was lovely — really nice,” says Christine.

Betty has eight grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and 11 great-great-grandchildren.