Farewell Margaret

With sadness we note the passing of a Torquay treasure, Margaret Ganly.
Margaret, who was 104 was the descendant of one of our earliest settlers, William Pride and we doubt there is anyone who had seen more change in our town than Margaret. As a child she spent her summer days at the Scammell house with her family and would explore the beaches and the little town with wonderful freedom. She told us once that the children were so free to roam that her mother would stand at the door and ring a big bell when lunch was ready and they would scurry home.
The family would start the day with a swim before breakfast, something Margaret kept up for much of her life. She was a regular daily swimmer at the front beach until well into her 90’s. She was a regular golfer up until 2 years ago and set a cracking pace on course ,always pulling her own clubs
By virtue of her long life Margaret was a wonderful resource to Museum Without Walls and was always generous with her time and happy to share her stories and photos.
We will always be grateful that she agreed to allow us to film her at the Scammell house telling us about her family stories of wreck of the Scammell and how the deckhouse came to be rescued from the beach, and served as her home for many years. These stories are such an important part of our history.

Margaret loved camping and hiking in the Otway ranges, she loved long walks along deserted beaches, collecting Cowrie shells and writing poetry.

She will be missed by many in our town.
Our sympathies to her family. Vale Margaret.