Secrets to a long life

The secret to a long, healthy life is simple, according to WWII veteran William (Bill) Bruce: “Just work hard, eat meat and potatoes, and breathe through your nose.”

That approach certainly worked out well for the former Nebo resident, with Bill turning 102 on 2 January 2019.

The celebrations may not have been as big as they were when Bill turned 100 and almost the entire population of Nebo joined him to celebrate, but his family marked the occasion with a special dinner.

Bill, who was born in 1917 at the Fort Cooper Hotel (now known as the Nebo Hotel), lived in the area his entire life and only moved to a nursing home at Caboolture after his 100th birthday.

“I am not married, and I didn’t have close family in the area, so my doctors suggested I should shift somewhere closer,” Bill said.

Bill served as a Craftsman in New Guinea and New Britain

Bill joined the Australian Defence Force in 1942 and the Australian Imperial Force in 1943, achieving the rank of Craftsman and serving in New Guinea and New Britain.

“I was 25 in 1942 when I signed up. I was with the Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, and I served with that unit throughout the war. I was in charge of the electrical system,” he said.

Before the war, Bill – who had two brothers and three sisters – was a contract worker in the bush, doing station work and a stint mining at Mt Gotthardt outside Mackay.

He returned to that work when he was discharged from the Army and spent the last 30 years of his working life in charge of the Nebo Shire Council workshop.

Secretary and President of Nebo RSL Sub Branch

Bill has always been a keen participant at the Nebo RSL, where  he became Secretary in 1960 and then Sub Branch President from 1987 until its closure in 2012, single-handedly running every ANZAC Day ceremony at Nebo during that time.

A keen sportsman, Bill was also President of the local cricket and tennis clubs and Secretary of the local jockey club. Though now living in a nursing home, he is still fairly active.

Last year, at 101, he was the oldest person to carry the Queen’s Baton on its route to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, although he describes himself as “relatively deaf, relatively blind and relatively old”.

At the time of the Baton Relay, the local council named a walkway in his honour – the Bill Bruce Nature Walk, which follows Nebo Creek into the township.