October 1, 2026
A very special celebration was held at Kumbia Hall recently to celebrate the 100th birthday of a very special lady.
More than 100 guests came from near and far on August 29 to celebrate the birthday of Ailsa Mary Newman.
Ailsa has nine children, 28 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren, most of whom were present for the celebration.
Her sister Kathleen, 92, also travelled from Peregian Beach for the big occasion.
Ailsa, who still lives on the family farm at Alice Creek, received congratulatory messages from King Charles and Queen Camilla, the Governor-General, the Queensland Governor, the Prime Minister, the State Premier and local MP, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington (and was also expecting a certificate from Pope Leo IV!).
[Photos: John Dalton]
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From Country Girl To Beloved Teacher
Highlights of Ailsa’s life were shared at the gathering of family and friends:
The remarkable life of Ailsa Mary Newman was shaped by family, resilience and a love of the bush.
Born during the difficult years of the Great Depression, Ailsa Mary Newman (née Doyle) began life on a dairy farm at Beaudesert, surrounded by family, music and the Australian bush.
Born on August 27, 1926, Ailsa was the third child of John Patrick Doyle and Florence Catherine Doyle. She joined older brother John and sister Ursula at the family farm, affectionately known as “Old Hillview”.
Life on the farm was far from easy, yet Ailsa’s childhood was filled with memorable adventures and the warmth of an extended family.
The Doyle home was often filled with music. Ailsa’s father, Jack, played the accordion and was known to occasionally abandon the milking when a dance was calling. The family even had a billiard table, which became a gathering place for local workers and orphan boys from neighbouring farms.
A Childhood Full Of Adventure
Getting to school was an adventure in itself. School was three miles away, meaning Ailsa faced a long walk on her “baby legs”.
One particularly memorable incident involved Ailsa’s sister Ursula attempting to ride a favourite milking cow to school. The cow, unsurprisingly, had other ideas. Halfway to school, it deposited Ursula into the dirt and continued on its way.
Ailsa also remembered the arrival of her first female teacher, an experience that left such an impression on her that she decided she too would one day become a teacher.
Leaving The Bush
As the Depression continued, conditions on the farm became increasingly difficult. Drought, low prices and her mother’s deteriorating health eventually forced the Doyle family to leave the farm and move to Lota on Brisbane’s bayside.
For Ailsa and her siblings, the move brought an entirely new world.
Their first glimpse of the sea was unforgettable. Having grown up in the bush, the children were amazed by the enormous expanse of blue water and the beach.
Their excitement quickly turned to panic when they encountered hundreds of large blue-backed soldier crabs moving across the mudflats. Their mother calmly showed them that the creatures were harmless, turning a moment of fear into another treasured childhood memory.
A Student Who Excelled
Ailsa did her Scholarship year at Wellington Point and then attended Brisbane State High School, travelling by train from the family home.
Her mother would rise at 5:00am each morning to light the stove and prepare a hot breakfast before Ailsa left for school.
Ailsa excelled academically and on the sporting field. Her achievements in athletics eventually earned her a gold medal, presented by the Governor of Queensland at Brisbane City Hall.
But alongside her successes came tragedy. Ailsa’s beloved older brother, John, died at just 19 years of age after being overcome by poisonous gas while inspecting a neighbour’s well.
John had worked hard to support his family, sending his wages home from properties and shearing sheds out west.
His death deeply affected the family. Ailsa remembered waiting in the afternoons hoping to see her brother return home, even though she knew he never would.
A Young Woman With A Calling
After finishing school, Ailsa went to Teachers Training College, determined to achieve her lifelong ambition.
Her teaching career began at Wellington Point, where after a year, she was deemed by the Inspector as “fit to teach” in the bush.
She was sent to a one-teacher school at Barker’s Creek, near Nanango, and remembers with love, the families who welcomed her into their homes as a boarder.
At only 19 years old, Ailsa found herself teaching children who were sometimes only a few years younger than she was but she maintains that her authority was never questioned.
Her love and dedication to her students and the local families was often shared and Ailsa was known to dig potatoes on family farms on weekends to ensure that the children came to school.
Ailsa became known as a practical and enthusiastic teacher who used the surrounding bush as her classroom. A flooded creek could become a geography lesson, while encounters with local wildlife provided unforgettable experiences.
She also had a creative approach to discipline.
When parents complained that children were fighting on the way to and from school, Ailsa established a boxing ring and taught them the Queensbury Rules of Boxing (taught her by brother John Patrick) and declared that all fighting had to be done “in the ring” with herself acting as referee.
Her former students would later remember her as the best teachers they had ever had.
Finding The Love Of Her Life
Not long after arriving in the bush, Ailsa entered an Easter Carnival race.
She believed herself to be a good runner, but there was one person who proved faster, John Edward (Jack) Newman.
Ailsa later described him as “the love of my life”.
Their whirlwind courtship eventually led to marriage.
Together they settled in the picturesque valley beneath the Bunya Mountains and raised a family of nine children.
A Life Built On Resilience
Ailsa’s life was marked by enormous changes — from growing up during the Depression and experiencing wartime Australia, to becoming a teacher, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
She experienced joy and heartbreak, poverty and achievement, loss and love.
Through it all, she retained her sense of humour, her appreciation of family and her lifelong love of the Australian bush.
Although she lost her husband Jack many years ago, Ailsa continued to lead a full life surrounded by the love of her family.
Her story is not simply one of survival. It is a story of determination, courage, family and an extraordinary ability to find joy in life’s simplest moments.
A Life Worth Remembering
From the little girl walking three miles to school, to the young teacher inspiring children in the Queensland bush, and later to the mother, grandmother and great-grandmother at the centre of a large family, Ailsa Mary Newman lived a remarkable Australian life.
Her story is a reminder that a person’s greatest legacy is often not wealth or possessions, but the people they influence and the memories they leave behind.
