 |
| left to right: Jean and Doris |
Twins Doris and Jean Clarke have just celebrated their 101st birthday making them the oldest identical twins in Australia.
They have been residents at Spiritus’ Symes Grove aged care home in Brisbane for the past eight years and celebrated their birthdays with staff, fellow residents and friends in a quiet way – but with lashings of cake and candles.
Last year’s celebrations were little different, with congratulations from the Queen, the Prime Minister, the Governor General and the Governor and inter-state and overseas relatives.
Despite their longevity, the twins had an inauspicious beginning. Born at 4lb each (1.45kg), they were described as “miserable” by their doctor who believed they would not survive.
Additionally, both experienced serious illness as infants, Doris contracting Diphtheria and Jean Rheumatic Fever. “We weren’t meant to die” quipped Jean and added “... we had a sensible mother who looked after us.”
Against the odds, Jean and Doris have lived through two world wars and the Great Depression, but have still been able to blow out more candles than just about anyone else.
They have thrived and lived energetic lives, albeit quite different from one another. Jean’s been described as more the aesthete and Doris the athlete.Jean’s passion is for music and her dream was to pursue a career as a ballet dancer. Due to family financial constraints she was not able to take dance classes. This changed when she went to work, taking ballet lessons from Peggy Chauncey, a student of the famed Anna Pavlova. She danced successfully for the next twenty years, although her late start prevented her from doing so full-time.
Doris loved sports ... athletics, swimming and hockey. Her prowess was acknowledged early in life and she climbed the ranks to become a member of the Queensland Hockey team.
Jean worked as a secretary for the Apple and Pear Board before moving to Melbourne where she lived for twenty-seven years. She became a keen photographer, joining the Essendon Photography Club and also took up painting becoming a dab hand at seascapes.
Jean describes her twin as “...one of the kindest people I’ve ever met – she would try to help anyone if she could.”
Doris joined the WAF but when injured left the service to take over the care of her sick mother.
The sisters became interested in the philosophical and religious side of life and practise “the ancient wisdom” of the Theosophical Society ... including seventy years of vegetarianism.
Good health has been their good fortune and although now confined to a wheelchair and with some short-term memory loss, Doris has lost none of her interest in life’s activities. The twins see each other daily and say that they understand every glance and movement the other makes.
Life at Symes Grove continues to be relaxed and interesting and the twins look forward to going on community bus trips and having lunch together on Thursdays. They attend church in the Symes chapel and on Sunday afternoons Doris visits Jean in her unit to watch television – they’re both big cricket and tennis fans. Always partial to a good sing-along, Doris attends the concerts held in the community hall and Jean loves the weekly movie sessions and creative activities.