Community
4 April, 2026
‘Good clean living’
AFTER surviving the heartbreak of returning home to find her house burned to the ground as a young mother, Phyllis Westcott has spent a century proving that resilience, hard work and faith can carry a person through anything.
The much-loved Innisfail local celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by around 100 family members and friends at a special lunch at Brothers Leagues Club last month.
Born at ‘Palm Villa’ in Owen Street on March 3, 1926, Phyllis was the first-born twin to Mary and Joseph Brincat and the eldest of six children Betty, Frank, Joseph and Mary.
She and her twin sister Ann grew up on the family’s Mena Creek cane farm, where their childhood included long days of manual labour before school at Mena Creek State School.
On 17 September 1945, at the age of 19, Phyllis married dairy farmer Alvin ‘Geoff’ Westcott at the Catholic church in Mena Creek with their reception at the hall next door. The young couple began their life together in Warrubullen.
But their early years were marked by tragedy. When their first child, Alvin, was only six months old, the couple returned from a night at the South Johnstone picture theatre to find their home destroyed by fire. They had lost everything.
With determination and grit, Geoff cut core for the mill while they rebuilt their lives and eventually returned to Warrubullen to continue dairy farming. They later settled on a cane farm in Mourilyan, and Geoff also had a real estate business, Phyllis helped in the office.
They went on to raise four children, Alvin, Reg, Philip and Gwen and shared 53 years of marriage before his death in 1998.
Today, Phyllis continues to live in the Mourilyan home Geoff built for her in 1970, with daughter Gwen caring for her since 2008.
A lifelong Innisfail resident, Phyllis has been a familiar face in the community for decades. She was a talented gardener, known especially for her prize-winning dahlias and other cut flowers exhibited at the Innisfail Show. In 2021, she proudly returned to Mena Creek State School for its 101st celebrations, as one of the oldest former students.
After losing her twin sister last year, Phyllis is now the oldest surviving member of her family.
When asked for her secret to a long and healthy life, Phyllis keeps it simple: “Hard work, good clean living and a strong faith.”
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