Golden Oldies Ursula Collins And Her Life Of Love, Adventure And Resilience

By Victoria Velton

“I tell young people to do everything you possibly can within your capabilities. If you miss the opportunity, it’s gone."

At 87, Ursula Collins speaks from rich experience. A resident of the Lions Retirement Village in Halifax since 2009, she lives quietly these days, but her past is anything but. Born in Leicestershire, England, in 1937, two years before the outbreak of World War II, Ursula has lived through some of the most turbulent and transformative decades in modern history, carving out a life full of adventure, challenge and resilience.

She trained as a state-registered nurse in post-war England. “I wasn’t supposed to marry during training, it was frowned upon in the 1950s, but I did,” she said, smiling. Ursula and her husband, an Oxford undergraduate, soon set off with their three-week-old baby to Kenya, where they lived in the bush for five years. “No electricity, no phone... we were burgled twice in three nights,” she recalled. When independence was coming and things got rough, they decided to leave.

And they didn’t just fly out, they drove home, across the Middle East, in a three-month road trip through Iraq, Iran and Jordan. “We had a six-foot tent for the four of us. And it was fantastic, it really was. People were so good to us all the way through, so kind."

The next chapter took them to Papua New Guinea, but their marriage ended there. Coincidentally, both later married Australians, and Ursula moved to Darwin shortly after Cyclone Tracy in 1974, where she continued working in health, including as a physiotherapy assistant, and eventually settled into a quieter life. “But we still had the travel bug," she said with pride, mentioning adventures such as living on a yacht for two years, sailing the ocean.

Life, however, has not been without sorrow. “I had four children. One son only lived 24 hours.” Her daughter suffered a ruptured cerebral aneurysm in 2006 and lost the ability to speak. Her eldest son is currently in palliative care with advanced prostate cancer. “I really feel I’m going to outlive my children,” she said quietly.

After her husband passed away in 2004, Ursula moved to Ingham in 2009 to be closer to her family. “I hate cities and towns. I love the country and used to love camping and fishing, but all that stopped when my husband died.” Now she enjoys the peace of retirement village life, where everyone has their own unit but checks in on each other. “It’s like a little family. We’re not in each other’s pockets, but we help when needed.”

Though less active these days, Ursula fondly remembers her time with the Mossman Seniors in Port Douglas. “We went on a tramp steamer to Thursday Island, delivering supplies up the Gulf. One of many wonderful adventures.”

Ursula’s mantra remains strong to “Get on with everybody you know, and to just enjoy people, and not bother about trivial upsets.” Wise words from someone who’s lived a life full of adventure, resilience and heart.

‍