William Zeller

Buried: 11 August 1951 Toowoomba Cemetary

Bcertificate: Queensland 355

Newspaper Extract:

[90th Birthday Celebrated

Mr. William Zeller, who on Monday celebrated his ninetieth birthday, is one of the oldest living native-born residents of Toowoomba. Son of the late Joseph Zeller - Carrier at Toowoomba in the days before the advent of the railways - William was born in the parental home in Hume Street, at the site now taken up by Harrison's bakery. It was there that he was christened; it was there that he took his bride; and it was there he reared a family of six sons and four daughters. Not until the death of his wife about 30 years ago did he shift from the old home to reside with his daughter Mrs F. Waters.

Mr. Zeller enjoys robust health still and is remarkably well preserved for his years. His only disabilities now, he says, are slightly impaired vision and a little deafness. He is an enthusiastic gardener, and the size of his vegetable plot and the neatness of the flower garden bear testimony to his energy and skill in that respect.

In the early days, he was employed in a variety of jobs. For 10 years he conducted a butchering business in Hume street. Then he went on the land, first at One Tree Hill and later at Flagstone. He still smokes his pipe with a degree of relish and when asked how long he had been a smoker he replied, "Ever since I went to School." He recalled his school days when he and other boys smoked tobacco of the "Nail Rod" brand, grown and manufactured by William Dolly, at Toowoomba. "That gave me a start at smoking and I've been smoking ever since," he said. But he has a rebellious dislike for cigarettes, which he says destroy the health and shorten life. "But the pipe, well, that's different," he declared.

He spent a happy birthday, surrounded by those things which, as the poet says, should accompany old age - "honor, love, obedience, and troops of friends."

His has been a useful life and the feeling that he is useful still in the garden keeps him, as he said, "Fit and well and with a good appetite." He hopes to reach the century and, judging by appearance, he probably will.

I didn’t really know my granddad all that well but I do remember he used to sit on the back stairs and chew tobacco, he also used to chop a lot of wood for the fire. My impression of him was that of a lovely man who used to wear felt shirts all the time. He also had parrots or cockatoos as pets and had a big vegetable garden and a tank. From memory he used to put the tool in he tank. (Peter Zeller)