A bush chook a day keeps the doctor away, according to 110-year-old Bridget Grocke. As one of Australia’s oldest residents, Ms Grocke has lived through two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Space Race, and the Information Age. But amid all the change, there has been a tradition in Bridget’s life that has lasted six decades — one glass of Emu Export every day.
And at her birthday party on Wednesday it was the celebratory tipple she turned to rather than a slice of cake. “If there was a whole heap of beer and I was asked which one is your favourite I’d have to say this,” she said as she held a glass of bush chook in her hand. “I’ve always known it.
It tastes good. “Cheers to Emu Export.” Born in Leederville on November 18, 1914, Bridget spent her early years in Kalgoorlie and moved all across WA as the family followed her father’s work as an engine driver.
She was the second eldest in a family of seven children and at the age of just 18, she took a brave step to move to Perth on her own. Ms Grocke picked up work at David Jones, known as Aherns at the time, where her knack for fashion and connecting with customers made her a highly-regarded staff member. She built her own family of four children with her husband, Jim, who she married at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Subiaco in 1942.
Despite losing her husband in 1985 and two of her children, Ms Grocke is surrounded by the love of her remaining son and daughter, 10 grandchildren, and 10 great grandchi.