Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On 12 October one of my constituents, Esther Freedman, turned 100. Born in Israel in 1909, she came to Australia when she was three years old. She celebrated her birthday with her daughters Ruth Leonard and Norma Brand, her nine grandchildren and her 11 great-grandchildren. In her earlier years, she represented Victoria in basketball. She played tennis until the age of 82, when she retired to take up competition lawn bowls, from which she retired only two years ago. She enjoys playing cards three times a week and watching sport on TV. I received this wonderful, beautiful, handwritten letter from Esther thanking me, and I would like to read it into Hansard. She writes:

Dear Michael,

I enjoyed the wonderful 100th birthday celebrations and wish to thank you and your staff for arranging the congratulatory certificates from the Queen, the Governor-General, the Prime Minister and yourself. They all added to the excitement of the occasion.

Many thanks

Yours

Esther Friedman

I hope when we are 100, we are all as capable of writing wonderful, handwritten letters like this. What a woman!

See this speech in context