Community & Business
21 March, 2025
Centenarian passes away
Dr E.A.F McDonald Home resident Neville Smith, born and raised in Goombungee, celebrated his 100th birthday last week on Wednesday (March 12th) and passed away on Saturday morning.
On Wednesday, Neville, summing up his life, started his birthday celebration with a dry quip, and spoke in a down-to-earth manner to a large and friendly assembled crowd which included Matthew Boyd, Director of Nursing at Oakey Hospital.
“Sorry to be the star of the show,” he said.
“I’d like to thank the family for the trouble they’ve gone to and for the many things they’ve done for me for which I’ve never said thank you.”
He said that getting to 100 years has been quite a journey.
“I’ve had a few successes and a few failures,” he said.
“I never wanted to be anything but one of the average people that make life so good and interesting.”
Neville Smith was born on March 12th, 1925 in Goombungee to Syd and Isabella (nee Lyons) Smith.
His parental grandfather had bought land from the original Gowrie pastoral station. Neville says his mother, who was Irish born, held no love for her former country, saying that “people hated each other.”
Neville had grown up on the family farm, Avondale, close to the present Goombungee Golf Club. He attended Goombungee State School and recalled head teacher Claude de Jersey and classroom teacher Harry Stevens. After completing primary school, he was awarded a scholarship to the Gatton Agricultural High School and College (now the University of Queensland’s Gatton campus), which he attended from 1939-42.
Neville said he was taught by Tom Barrett (Engineering), Jon Howie (Horticulture), Percy Skerman (Agriculture) and Stan Petherick (Agriculture).
He also remembered how Colonel J. K. Murray, a past principal of Gatton College, helped facilitate requisitioning of the College hospital into a U.S. Army General Hospital, with most of the medical staff coming over from Harvard University.
Neville was a life member of the UQ Gatton Past Students association, and was believed to have been their oldest surviving student. After graduating from Gatton College, he worked at Grantham Butter Factory and for the Department of Agriculture and Stock (now the Department of Primary Industries) at Nanango.
Neville married Gwen Inwood from Boodua (around an hour’s drive from Nanango, he recalled) on April 18th at the Neil Street Wesleyan Methodist Church (now the Wesley Uniting Church) in Toowoomba, near the city centre.
After wedding, the Smiths bought a dairy farm at Ravensbourne where on arrival, Neville was convinced into joining the Ravensbourne Bush Fire Brigade by neighbour Fred Zropf. He volunteered with the fire brigade for over 57 years until retiring in 2013, and had also driven the local school bus for a time.
Neville and Gwen had six children: Syd, Margaret, Jean, Elaine, Geoffrey and Irene, who all attended a family party in celebration of Neville’s life with their families on Saturday afternoon. One grandson Scott Vlietstra, travelled from Broome, while son Syd Smith drove up with his wife from Howlong near Albury.
