ELDERS: Betty McLaughlin, 81, Thorpdale South (formerly)

Saving the world for 81 year old Betty McLaughlin was a very good thing, she says, but it wasn’t much fun! That is, not until she found her song in South Gippsland.

Betty and her partner certainly had some reservations about leaving their spacious five acre block in the hills of Thorpdale South, to move into a retirement village. It was a pretty big change, but now in their 80s, the property had become harder to manage.

A former social worker, administrator and facilitator, Betty has worked to help empower women farmers in Africa. She is also one of the founders of a group that aims to spread singing around the South Gipsland region.

I hope you enjoy this lively conversation with one of our wonderful South Gippsland elders.