Jim and Elsie Manera are both aged 83 and have lived in Ross their entire lives. They were born within a month of each other in 1926, Jim in May and Elsie in June, and they knew each other as they were growing up. Elsie says she used to show off at Jim from time to time. Jim: “We played tennis together. Yes, I wasn’t allowed to beat her, I used to let her win most of the time. And I always would. And when we got engaged, and married, our toastmaster said “We’ll give them 6 months! They’ll be parted in 6 months time!” He was one of my best friends, but he died years ago. We’d known each other too long he reckoned.
Building was Jim’s main trade. When they got married in 1949, Jim built the home they still live in today in Alymer Street, in the days before power, “Everything was done by hand!” He also built the Ross Motels that they both ran together until recently, and several other homes in Ross for other people. . Their home has a lovely art deco fireplace surround for an open fire that was essential for heating. This has been replaced by three heat pumps which has cut out all the dust and cleaning of fireplaces for Elsie. They spend a lot of their leisure time in the new conservatory at the front of the house which gets maximum afternoon sun. They loved the open fire but they can still sit by one at the local, the Empire Hotel, and often do.
Elsie remembers “As a young married couple we had our friends and that, and Margaret Minehans boys were the same age as our boys and they were great cobbers. They all went to the school here, up to secondary school. I had gone to the Ross School; Jim had gone to the Catholic School. The school was pulled down a while ago, but the convent building’s still there.
Jim’s parents had lived just over the road from where Jim and Elsie live now, and they had owned quite a bit of land. Elsie lived down near the beach. She used to walk from the beach to school every day. There was one bike between three so the early bird got to ride while the other two walked!
Jim recalls, “When we were youngsters there were still people working gold up the creeks; there was the ‘Muldy old’ going that brought the gold down on the horses. There weren’t many motorcars in the days of our childhood, people got about by foot or they went to town on horseback.”
Between them they have seen many changes around Ross.
“We had sawmills here you see, for native timber. I’d say that gold was still lucrative, but it was before our time. There’d been some digging going on though when we were children, underneath houses etc – our parents spoke about it.”
Jim and Elsie had three boys; two who are still living in Ross and both are also carpenters. The third son lives in Melbourne
Elsie says, “They followed Jim, building was his main trade. There are more nails in the doorstep I reckon than anywhere!”
Jim: “My son had his 60th birthday party recently and in his speech, he’s 60 years old, unreal, having both his parents at his party.”
Most people know Jim and Elsie but if strangers come to Ross and they don’t go to the pub, they would never meet. Having lived here all their lives they are local entities but are also known and loved up and down the coast. Elsie has always loved to whitebait but she says that Jim doesn’t like her going much these days for fear she might fall in. He does go down with her though, and drives in the stakes so that she can still indulge her passion.
They have just had their diamond wedding anniversary, on 18th December 2008. Elsie has been waiting for the ‘long service’ medal from the queen –“long service living with somebody, or something”! When reminded that it was probably the telegram she was thinking of for reaching 100, she replied – “that’s right that was what I was thinking of!”