News
23 August, 2025
Century celebration
Toogoolawah’s Katharine Thomasz has achieved an extraordinary milestone, celebrating her 101st birthday on August 9, surrounded by family, friends, and well-wishers.
Born in 1924 in Borneo to Eurasian parents, Katharine’s early life was shaped by world events. She was one of six children, growing up with three sisters and two brothers.
Her life changed forever during the Second World War when, at just 17 years old, she married Cecil Oliver Thomasz, who was 24 at the time. The couple began married life in Singapore, living with Cecil’s parents during the terrifying Japanese bombing campaigns. Katharine vividly recalls the night the house next door was struck, vanishing into a large crater with no survivors. That brush with tragedy cemented her resilience, a quality she has carried through a century of living.
Seeking safety and stability, the couple later moved to Penang, where they grew their young family. Their two youngest children, Cecile and David, were born in the Seventh-day Adventist Hospital there—a small detail that foreshadowed their later conversion to the Seventh-day Adventist faith after eventually settling in Australia.
The family migrated to Western Australia in 1963, where they remained for 35 years before moving to Queensland. Katharine has called Toogoolawah home for many years, now living with her youngest daughter Cecile and son-in-law Ian in the Somerset region.
Katharine raised seven children in total, and her family has since grown to include many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She continues to take joy in writing letters to her great-grandchildren, a treasured tradition that keeps the generations connected.
Creativity has always been part of Katharine’s life. In her 40s she discovered a passion for cottage crafts, oil painting, crochet, knitting, cross-stitch, and other handiwork. Even at 100, she continues to knit cushion covers with care, finding happiness in these timeless hobbies.
Known for her love of Asian food and curries, Katharine proudly says she has never touched alcohol, perhaps one of her secrets to longevity.
Katharine is described as warm, humble, and quietly determined—a woman whose life has spanned continents, cultures, and a century of change.
