A celebration of a life well lived...

The main reason for DH's cousin's visit to Australia, was to scatter her mum's ashes at Kangaroo Point here in Brisbane, where Thelma had grown up. This was organised for the first Tuesday of Adrienne's visit. 

Firstly that day, Thelma's half sister Jeanie, had a meeting with Adrienne here at our place. Other than long distance phone calls from the US, aunt and niece had not met previously. 

In the photo above, Adrienne is showing Jeannie a book of old family photos that she had put together as a gift for her aunt. 

After a cuppa it was time for us to head off and meet up at Kangaroo Point with some more of the family. The area has changed a bit since Adrienne's mother Thelma, lived in the area with her grandparents. 

Sadly the house of the Mohr family has just been demolished in the last few months...gasp!! On that corner in the photo you can see the hoarding on the building site.

The cousins' great grandfather Frank, had been a ferryman before the Story Bridge was built. Just across the street from the old house had been the old slipway down to what had been a jetty for the ferry...

That's a present day ferry on the river, just out from where we had all gathered...bit different from the one that Frank rowed! 

Adrienne's mum had always talked about the 'big rock' that she and her cousins had played on and delighted in jumping off...I'll caption it so you can see it more clearly...

On a holiday back to Australia a number of years ago, Thelma and her cousin Edna revisited their grandparents' house and street and posed on 'their rock'...they were apparently surprised that the rock appeared much smaller! 😉

A touching moment when Jeannie and Adrienne hold the ashes' container and remember Thelma...

DH had previously checked the tides' information so the river level would be high when we gathered to scatter the ashes. However...apparently the times given ( 11 am) for high tide are for the mouth of the river, not where Kangaroo Point is...therefore it would be another hour before the high tide there. So...

The rest of us 'watched from on high'! 

So 3 of the boys helped Adrienne down to the river level and she gave a delightful speech. She told us that her mother had always said she wanted her ashes scattered in the Brisbane River...until she heard a number of years ago that the river had become rather dirty and she had changed her mind. But 20 years ago a relative had told her it was cleaned up and so the plan was on again. 

And then, Thelma's ashes were scattered...

A group photo...

( a daughter and grandchildren [and 3 spouses of those grandchildren], of Johanna, Ethel and Mary Mohr.) 

Then it was time for lunch...and there could only be one choice of venue. A story that Thelma would tell  Adrienne was how Grandma Mohr would send young Thelma up to the nearby Kangaroo Point Hotel to tell Grandpa it was time to come home for tea. 😉 It is now the Story Bridge Hotel and is a short walk up the street. 

We sat out in the garden at the back of the hotel...the Story Bridge was above us!!

And how's this for a set of stairs that lead up to the bridge...

It had been a lovely ceremony at the river and what a fun get together we had over a yummy lunch too!!