Shipwright, sailor, family man: Don turns 100

Resthaven ‘Glynde Lodge’ Retirement Living resident Mr Donald (Don) Clay has earned a reputation for being dependable, reliable and loyal.

Turning 100 on 27 February, he not only built a strong and steady career, but has lived a life dedicated to his late wife Greta, their daughter Sharon, and his extended family.

Don was born in Fairfield, Victoria, the first in his family born in Australia.

‘I was the youngest,’ Don says. ‘My parents and three sisters moved from England to Australia in 1924.’

His father was a baker and pastry cook who owned his own business. Sadly, tragedy struck early when Don’s mother died in 1927. He was just 20 months old.

‘My father couldn’t cope with all us children, so he put us into an orphanage,’ Don says.

The children remained there for six years, until their father remarried. The children were separated by gender but attended school together in the middle of the orphanage complex.

‘I hardly have any memories of my time there,’ Don says. ‘I can describe the building for you, and I have one memory of sitting at the school desk with a slate for writing on, but over those six years, the only proper memory I have is the day my dad came and picked us up. I remember looking out the back window of the car as we drove out the big, ornate gates, and they closed behind us.’

Don left school at 13 and a half years old, first working in a glass factory learning glazing and leadlight, then moving to a timber yard office.

‘They had a lot of mail, and my first job was to lick the stamps,’ Don laughs. ‘I ended up in the shop, packaging bundles of nails ready for sale.’

With World War II underway, Don applied to the government to take up an apprenticeship in 1941. He was offered two options: shipwright or foundry work.

‘I visited a foundry, but it was dirty, heavy work,’ Don says. ‘So, I went to the shipyards at Williamstown and did a five-year apprenticeship.’

Don’s career in the merchant navy followed. After working in dockyards building ships, he began sailing on vessels transporting BHP products around Australia.

‘My first journey was from Sydney to Port Kembla,’ Don says.

Twelve months later, a stop in Port Adelaide would change his life forever.

Meeting Greta

‘I always laugh that I met Greta on the wharf,’ Don says.

It was August 1947, and Greta worked in the wharf canteen. Her colleague, June, was outside taking photographs and struck up a conversation with Don. Greta joined them, and when June invited Don to the pictures that night, Greta (aware that her colleague sometimes double-booked suitors) insisted on coming along as well.

‘Greta told me that June had a reputation for inviting several boys out at once, and then choosing someone on the night,’ Don says. ‘Greta didn’t want me to be treated like that, so she insisted on coming too.’

As predicted, it was just Don and Greta who went to the pictures that night. The movie was Angels with Dirty Faces.

Don set sail the following day, but the couple kept in touch with letter writing, and they always met up when Don came to port. It wasn’t long before they were engaged, and in 1951, they were married in Adelaide. The couple honeymooned in Melbourne and were due to take the train back to Adelaide when Don spotted a ship that was preparing to leave the harbour.

‘I asked them if we could join them on their journey, and they said yes,’ Don says. ‘The first night there were 12 of us at the table for dinner. The next morning at breakfast, there were only two — everyone else was seasick, including Greta!’

Married life suited the couple well, and their daughter Sharon was born at the end of the year.

Family, Footscray and the milk bar years

In 1952, following the death of his stepmother, Don moved his young family to Victoria to care for his ailing father. Don and Greta bought a milk bar in Footscray, which they ran for six years, while Don also worked part-time on the docks.

During the Melbourne Olympics, the family billeted two Olympic boxers — a memorable experience for young Sharon. Eventually, Greta longed to return to South Australia to be closer to her parents. They sold the shop and set off by car — only to break down in Tintinara.

‘We pushed the car onto a railway siding and rang Greta’s brother-in-law, who had a tip truck,’ Don says. ‘We had to wait for him to come from Christies Beach to collect us.’

They managed to get the car onto the truck, and then drove through the night, all four squeezed into the front seat of the truck for the rest of the journey home. Back in Adelaide, the family settled at Christies Beach, and Don resumed shipbuilding before returning to sea on BHP vessels.

‘I took a relief job on the ships for two months — and it lasted 12 years,’ Don says.

Although he was away for three to four weeks at a time, the role came with 16 weeks’ annual leave.

‘We worked out that over the years, I was home more than I would have been in a nine-to-five job,’ Don says.

His routes regularly included Wollongong, Newcastle, Port Lincoln, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, Whyalla and Port Augusta.

Greta studied cake decorating, and with a natural talent, she became a professional cake decorator specialising in engagement and wedding cakes.

Don left the sea in 1972. Six weeks later, he and Greta embarked on their first cruise.

‘It wasn’t long before I was back on the water,’ Don laughs.

Greta was unsure about the journey to begin with.

‘We had boarded in Sydney and were standing on the deck and she turned to me and said “what am I doing here? Why are we doing this?”, but before we even went under the Harbour Bridge she turned to me with such a smile – she was hooked!’

The couple visited Nouméa, Vanuatu and Fiji, and on subsequent cruises, they went to Southeast Asia and New Zealand.

‘Greta loved it,’ Don says. ‘She loved being out on the water.’

Don transitioned into maintenance work — first with a furniture company, then maintaining the newly opened KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants across the state, and later doing maintenance at a nursing home for 12 years until his retirement.

A new home at Glynde

When Greta’s health declined, the couple decided to move closer to Sharon. After considering several retirement villages, they received a call about a newly available unit at Glynde Lodge.

‘We slid open the door at the inspection, and Greta just said, “I’m home”,’ Don says.

The feeling deepened when they discovered the previous owners had the same couch — and even the same lace tablecloth. They later realised they knew the sellers, and once they moved in, they discovered they knew several of the neighbours.

‘It’s a great place to live,’ Don says. ‘No matter what the problem is, there’s always someone to help.’

Sadly, Greta died in 2017, the day after her 87th birthday.

Sharon now lives in Resthaven retirement living herself and says that her and her dad’s roles have gently reversed.

‘After Dad looking after me for so many years, it’s my turn to look after him,’ Sharon says.

A late-life discovery

At 92, Don uncovered a skeleton in the closet: he had a half-brother, just three months younger than himself.

‘It was a bit of a shock, but it was lovely to have another member of the family,’ Don says.

Don, his sisters and other family members met up with their stepbrother and got to know him well before he passed away at 98.

‘For 92 years, he never knew he had a family,’ Don says. ‘And we were all right here.’

Longevity runs in the family — one sister lived to 105 and a cousin to 101.

‘I’ve never been a smoker, and I’ve never drunk,’ Don says.

Don’s family, friends and neighbours held a quiet celebration to celebrate his milestone birthday.

Happy 100th birthday, Don! We hope you have a wonderful day. Thank you for sharing your story.