Milestone celebrated by well-known family in Deloraine

Meander Valley mayor Wayne Johnson's father Neill (88), his uncles, Noel (82), Graham (86), and Brian - who turned 80 this week - as well as their older sister Joan Broomhall (89) were raised on a farm at the top of Boxhalls Road in Meander, which is named after their mother's maiden name.

The group said they grew up quite active as they were required to walk over three kilometres to school and back each day before having to help out with various tasks around the family farm.

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Later on, they became involved in a range of sports, including badminton and football.

The latter of which was particularly popular among the four men who played together at Meander Valley Football Club for several years - along with Joan's husband - before the youngest in the pack, Brian, moved to Elizabeth Town.

Upon arrival, he began playing for the Eagles, eventually making it to a grand final, where he came up against none other than his former club Meander Valley.

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Despite his brothers having long since retired, he still went shoulder-to-shoulder with his nephews.

"This created a real dilemma for my mother, because she didn't know who to go for," he said.

While the family's matriarch Joan was less involved in sports, she was equally as active in her youth, having conquered a lengthy backpacking trek that took her from the Great Lake to the Walls of Jerusalem.

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The fitness-oriented lifestyles exhibited by the siblings both in competitive ventures and in their working lives was something they cited as a possible contributing factor to their extended life spans.

However, they also believed the fresh produce they consistently consumed during their childhood spent on the farm also would have made a positive impact.

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"We lived self sufficiently and hardly had to travel into town to get food, and its a good thing we didn't because that old car didn't go very fast at all," Joan said.

"I remember rabbit being the order of the day."

Neither of the five siblings smoked and hardly drank.

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