Joan Mutton Celebrates 100th Birthday In The Burdekin

On 20 July 2025, surrounded by friends at the Alva Beach Tourist Caravan Park, Joan Mutton marked her 100th birthday the same way she has spent the past two decades of winters: in the Burdekin, fishing, quad‑biking and swapping stories at happy hour.

“We’ve been coming up here for the last 20 years,” Joan said. “A lot of these people that come up here, and also friends we have made in Home Hill and so forth, were all here to celebrate, and it was lovely.”

Born in Adelaide in 1925, Joan grew up in a time when electricity was just reaching the Adelaide Hills and cars were a new sight on the roads. At 16, during World War II, she joined the Australian Defence campaigns, kicking off a professional career of hard work and service.

She went on to study accountancy, run her own real estate business, manage a citrus orchard for more than a decade and help establish the West Beach SA Bendigo Community Bank, where she served as Administrative Secretary and a Board Member—“all voluntary, too,” she proudly added.

Adventurous by nature, Joan has made 21 overseas trips, from Scandinavia to Canada, but still calls her “gypsy life in the caravan” one of her happiest chapters. She credits staying active for her longevity: “I still do all the cooking—I’m pretty well self‑sufficient. Once you stop doing things, you can’t get it back.”

She even keeps up with technology, though she laughs at the pace of change: “You’re never too old to learn, but they do keep moving the goalposts!”

Family remains central: two daughters, four grandchildren and five great‑grandchildren, all waiting for another celebration when she returns to Adelaide.

Her secret to a century well‑lived? “Never give up, and you’re never too old to learn. You just keep on going—and be kind."

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