Living to 100 is still pretty rare, so there’ll be a lot of excitement amongst his family and wide circle of acquaintances when popular Queenstowner Owen Todd raises his ton this coming Tuesday. He talks to Philip Chandler about some of his milestones, including writing the history of the local bowling club’s own centenary, and tries to account for his longevity

In 1926, the first pop-up toaster was released, Winnie the Pooh was published and Route 66 was established.

King George V was on the throne and his grand-daughter, later Queen Elizabeth II, was born.

So, too, was Queenstown’s Owen Todd, who is turning 100 this coming Tuesday and is still in good nick.

Perhaps explaining his longevity, he has lived a very active life, originally in Invercargill, mostly, before retiring to Queenstown 40-plus years ago.

Down south he was best known for his extensive involvement with Southland rugby.

At school, he was one of three classmates in a Southland primary schools’ team that thrashed Otago.

The next Monday their teacher got the class to stand up to congratulate them.

“Coming out at playtime, I got a dig in the back.

“I turned around and here’s this good-looking dark-haired girl, she said ‘good on you’ — I finished up marrying her a few years later.”

Ray, he recalls, was among “the brainy ones” at the back of the class while he was up front.

He says he also played primary school rep hockey.

He later got into rowing and says when he first got into a skiff a crew member surprised him by throwing an artificial leg on to the wharf — “he was a returned serviceman”.

Frustrated by bad weather interrupting rowing meets, Owen joined Invercargill Rugby Club’s Blues side.

He ended up as a Blues life member — the club recently hosted an early 100th birthday party for him.

He also had a distinguished administrative career, serving as Southland president, managing rep teams, including the Stags, and even being one of seven New Zealand under-18 selectors.

Owen still has a miniature Ranfurly Shield commemorating the Stags’ unsuccessful 9-all draw with Auckland in 1976.

He was also managing rep teams in Blenheim when a player was stabbed in a fight with a biker gang.

“I had three guys, all policemen, in the senior team and they said, ‘we’re on active service anywhere in NZ any time’, so I said, ‘righto, you can go”.

However, he could not stop other players also joining the melee.

Ironically, the stabbed player, a retired cop, only recently visited him.

Having been intrigued watching men working in a blacksmith’s shop next door when his family lived in Balfour, Owen joined engineering firm JK Stevenson as an apprentice.

He was there for 43 years as a fitter-welder, and says they got very busy after the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter opened in ’71 — he was in charge of making machinery the alumina and bauxite went in.

Recognising their service, the firm gave him and another long-server cash each Christmas, but when they were offered shares instead, Owen happily took them up.

He and Ray bought a crib, named ‘Toddle Inn’, at the former Queenstown Motor Park which they retreated to most weekends if rugby did not interfere, often with their children Sally, Graeme and Neville.

“They used it a lot for skiing and partying,” he says.

Queenstown had introduced him to bowls when he and Ray on their honeymoon, in 1950, discovered the Gardens green and saw his rugby coach playing.

On retiring to Queenstown in the mid-’80s, Owen became a keen bowler.

A highlight was when he and mates Bill Johnston and Dave Weir, all about 80, played three club champs for the Queenstown Bowling Club’s triples champs in front of a packed verandah, “and we cleaned these buggers up”.

“Oh, that was a late night home.”

Aptly, for someone now reaching a century himself, Owen was asked to write the club’s 100-year history —  from 1904 to 2004.

“I hadn’t heard of an organisation that still had their full history from day one.

“I had all these minute books and turned one of the bottom bedrooms in our house in McBride St into an office.”

He signed off his history: “Life is like a sandwich — the more you add to it the better it becomes.”

Sadly, after 65 years’ marriage, Ray died in 2015.

As to what is behind his long innings, he says “I’ve been well looked after by my wife to start with”.

“I’d come home from rugby committee meetings or something and I’d say, ‘I’ve been nominated for this, what do you think?’

“‘Go for it’, that was her favourite saying.

“I’ve always kept fit — I do exercise in my room every morning.

“There’s chaps wandering around [Arvida Queenstown Country Club’s care centre] a long way younger than me and they can hardly bloody walk because they don’t do things.”

Owen has also remained mentally active.

“I like mixing with young people and encouraging them to do things.

“And the door’s always open for the staff, and when they’ve got a spare moment they’ll come and sit down.”

And if anyone calls him Mr Todd, he will say, “cut it out, it’s either ‘Toddy’ or ‘Owen’”.

scoop@scene.co.nz