I hoped I would not have to write this post this year but unfortunately it has happened. Olive Riley, the world's oldest blogger, has died.
She was 108 year old and a Woy Woy resident. She was born in Broken Hill in 1899. She died at 6am yesterday in the nursing home in which she has lived for some years. Her blog, All About Olive is maxed out at the moment and can't be accessed. But the news sites are full of the news and it is on the TV tonight.
From the ABC article below:
"Documentary maker Mike Rubbo says the idea for blogging came from another older friend who had taken it up.
"He suggested that Ollie could blog so we put it to her and explained what a blog was and then I undertook to do all the sort of leg work, it was great fun and it was great too to probe her memory more deeply and you get evermore stories about her past, many of which of course were set in Broken Hill," he said."
From the SMH:
"She will be mourned by family and an international readership in the thousands.
"She had people communicating with her from as far away as Russia and America on a continual basis, not just once in a while."
...
Olive had posted more than 70 entries on her blog, or as she jokingly labelled it, her "blob", since February last year.
...
Olive's funeral will be held at Palmdale Cemetery, on the NSW Central Coast, late this week."
Her main site, All About Olive, is inaccessible at the moment due to traffic no doubt. You can say goodbye to her World's Oldest Blogger, run by Eric Shackle while her usual blob typist Mike Rubbo was on holiday.
Goodbye, Olive. We will miss you.
'World's oldest blogger' dies at 108 (ABC) - includes videos of Olive & map of Broken Hill.
World's oldest blogger makes final post (SMH)
Someone peed on the fish - Olive singing & talking on YouTube, posted by Mike Rubbo
Film Broken Hill - photos of Broken Hill
Update, 17th July 2008
World farewells its oldest blogger in the other local rag, the Express Advocate.
Olive's main blob, All About Olive, is accessible again after the massive spike of traffic following the news of her death.
Mike Rubbo, Olive's typist, photographer and video-er, made it possible for her to be the world's oldest blobber. He also went above and beyond in emailing readers when she flagged, asking them to comment again to help perk her up.
Mike has written on the post of 13th July: "She was on the Sydney Harbour bridge when Simon De Groote cut the ribbon, pre empting the opening of that famous bridge, but she took no part". (See the Bridge's 75th for de Groot)
She was born before Queen Victoria died and before Australia became officially Australia at Federation (both 1901) and lived through both World Wars and the Great Depression.
May we all be Olive when we're old.
Showing posts with label Olive's blob. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olive's blob. Show all posts
Monday, July 14, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The bulldozer cometh
(Random walkies in Woy Woy)
I was bloody lazy yesterday. Too bloody lazy to walk. Too bloody lazy to do bung something up here. Laid on the sofa most of the day yawning and watching those nice big storms. Nice light show here but they made mincemeat of Western Sydney again. Anyways, here's the latest bits of Woy Woy to be menaced by the bulldozer.
Empty block next to Deepwater Plaza and across the road from the railway station. Corner of Railway Street & George Street. The local rag's just announced plans for the multi-storey carpark (from which this photo was taken) to be extended and the only logical extension is onto that block. It'll make a hell of a difference to the street.
That's Woy Woy Bay in the right background and Phegans Bay in the left background. The red roof on the right edge of the picture is the bottle shop.
Bit of bush on the corner Ocean Beach Road & Pioneer Road Umina, just near the service station. Lorikeet fans should note that flowering gum is the same type as they feed on all over the peninsula.
Snippet of bushland on the corner of the main road. Two 1940s houses got demolished next door and I'm thinking that land and this snippet is going to be sprouting more bloody villas soon.
Bits and blobs
Steve's Woy Woy photos are up and he's added some new articles and a spiffy new forum.
Pop over and leave a comment on Olive's blob. She's been blobbing over a year now. Pretty good going for a 108 year old.
Right. I'm off out onto the balcony to await for today's storm.
I was bloody lazy yesterday. Too bloody lazy to walk. Too bloody lazy to do bung something up here. Laid on the sofa most of the day yawning and watching those nice big storms. Nice light show here but they made mincemeat of Western Sydney again. Anyways, here's the latest bits of Woy Woy to be menaced by the bulldozer.
Empty block next to Deepwater Plaza and across the road from the railway station. Corner of Railway Street & George Street. The local rag's just announced plans for the multi-storey carpark (from which this photo was taken) to be extended and the only logical extension is onto that block. It'll make a hell of a difference to the street.
That's Woy Woy Bay in the right background and Phegans Bay in the left background. The red roof on the right edge of the picture is the bottle shop.
Bit of bush on the corner Ocean Beach Road & Pioneer Road Umina, just near the service station. Lorikeet fans should note that flowering gum is the same type as they feed on all over the peninsula.
Snippet of bushland on the corner of the main road. Two 1940s houses got demolished next door and I'm thinking that land and this snippet is going to be sprouting more bloody villas soon.
Bits and blobs
Steve's Woy Woy photos are up and he's added some new articles and a spiffy new forum.
Pop over and leave a comment on Olive's blob. She's been blobbing over a year now. Pretty good going for a 108 year old.
Right. I'm off out onto the balcony to await for today's storm.
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