Alison Woodroffe Joins ‘100 Club’ as Carinity’s Newest Centenarian

Alison Woodroffe joined Carinity Clifford House aged care centre in Wooloowin as its newest resident in early 2021. A few months after, she turned 100 and officially became a member of Carinity’s 100 Club.



Born on 1 December 1921 in Ascot, Alison has witnessed the growth of Brisbane, from a city of 218,000 to one of over 2.8 million locals today. The middle child of drapery business owners Marion and Frederick Ash, Alison attended Ascot State School and Somerville House, ranking among the top five students in Queensland in the 1930s. 

After finishing school, Alison worked in a bank where she met her husband, Norm Woodroffe. They married in 1943 and were blessed with five children. They lived a long and happy life together, until Norm’s passing 62 years later.

Alison Woodroffe pictured on her wedding day in 1943.
Photo Credit: Supplied

The Woodroffes travelled extensively overseas, visiting England, Ireland, Europe, Southeast Asia, North America, Japan, and New Zealand. Alison volunteered for Meals on Wheels, delivering food to seniors in need. Working in a charity thrift shop and knitting rugs for communities overseas were some of her other altruistic contributions.

In her young life, Alison was also a proficient tennis player and sprinter, and bowled to win tournaments with her husband in her 50s. After serving two terms as the president of the Clayfield Bowls Club, she retired from playing sports at 85 years old but took up a new hobby: competitive bridge. 

Alison Woodroffe pictured as an 18 year old in 1940.
Photo Credit: Supplied 

Her 100 years, however, were marked by a devasting loss during World War II as Alison’s brother, Ron, who was a Royal Air Force pilot, died during a mission in Germany in 1940. Her husband also enlisted in the infantry and had tours of duty in the Middle East, Papua New Guinea, Kokoda and Milne Bay.

Alison recalled that she frequented Wesley House in the city to serve breakfasts for soldiers on leave. She would then go to work before volunteering to make camouflage nets at Eagle Farm Racecourse in the evening and also helped run concerts to support the war effort. At that time, most household items and foodstuffs were in short supply and rationing was part of everyday living.



Having “seen it all,” Alison believes that her generation was one of the lucky ones. She explained that after marriage, women were not encouraged to stay in the workforce but were homemakers, allowing mothers and children much time together. Looking back, Alison believes she has led a full and happy life doing things she loves best and being with her family.

Alison is the third centenarian of Carinity Clifford House, after Ann Damen, 102, and Jean Clifford, 101. 

War Survivor Celebrates 100th Birthday in Wooloowin

Wooloowin resident Ann Damen turned 100 years old on the 18th of Dec 2019. After nine children, 23 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren, Ann acknowledges that she’s had a good life as a Dutch native living in Australia. Her life, however, could have been cut short during the Second World War.

Ann was born in The Hague and still remembers the time the Germans occupied the Netherlands some seven decades ago. An airstrike from the British army retaliating against the Germans destroyed the home she shared with her husband and children. It was a miracle they all survived.

“I remember, but not fondly, we went through the war. With all our kids we didn’t have much to eat. It was very hard, but we made it,” she shared. 

Photo Credit: Supplied


Ann, who lost her mother to tuberculosis at two years old, met her husband Pieter as a teenager. They married at the age of 20 years old in 1939, just before the Second World War broke.  

In 1950, Ann and Pieter decided to uproot their lives in Australia. 

“Because we had nine kids, and especially with six boys I was thinking, ‘Holland is lovely and beautiful but it’s very small so maybe it’s better if we go somewhere else’, so we decided to go to Australia,” Ann said. 

The move took Ann some time to get used to. Before the war, she and her husband used to enjoy a leisurely walk at night in Holland. However, her neighbours in her new community would go to bed early with the streets so dark and quiet in Australia.

She also missed Holland, especially during the snow at Christmas time. Before long, however, she got comfortable with the nice and warm weather of her adopted country. 

Photo Credit: Supplied


Sarina, one of Ann’s daughters, said that their mother’s love for her Australia sways with her love for her homeland. 

“When mum watches the Olympics, tennis or swimming on the TV she always barracks for Australia, but if there are no Australians in the race she then barracks for the Netherlands,” Sarina said. 

Until she was 99-years-old, Ann lived on her own in a unit in Newmarket. She has since moved to the Carinity Clifford House where she spends her time gardening, watching movies, singing and listening to music, playing Scrabbles and puzzles, and reading books by Rosamunde Pilcher and Cathy Kelly.

Photo Credit: Supplied

Carinity, established in 1949, is a non-profit Christian organisation with a mission to provide an affordable retirement community for the aged, the homeless and the struggling families.  It has seven retirement lifestyle villages and 11 aged care centres spread out across Queensland, including the Clifford House in Wooloowin. 

The Clifford House specialises in memory assisted living with the residents given access to. a team of medical experts like a GP, physiotherapist, podiatrist, dentist. The centre also has its own library, chaplain, hairdresser, and a community hall for various group activities and entertainment.