Stella Taylor (nee Macpherson) has lived a long and happy life, starting in Glasgow, Scotland and eventually making her way to the South Otago town of Balclutha. Stella now lives at Enliven Holmdene in Balclutha.
In her 20s, Stella married Jim Taylor in 1952 before Jim was heading back to Malaysia (then known as Malaya). Jim was in the armed forces, having already been in Palestine for four years. His posting to Malaysia was during a time of political unrest while Malaysia sought independence. But the couple forged a life in the Southeast Asian country for 10 years with the oldest son, Tom, who was born in Scotland before two other children, Barbara and Alan, were born in Malaysia.
“Living in Malaysia was quite different to Glasgow”, says Stella. “It was hot and humid!”
As Tom was just a baby, he was left in Scotland with Stella’s mother while the couple settled into their new lives.
“It was a wrench leaving him behind but I knew he was in a safe pair of hands with my mother who took good care of him. Once Jim and I were settled, we went back to collect Tom who was, by then, about three years old.”
In 1963 the family moved to New Zealand. For five years they lived in Nelson before moving to Balclutha where Jim took up the role of Court Registrar for the Justice Department.
By that stage their fourth and final son, Ian, had arrived. Today Stella has grandchildren and great-grandchildren and while she was a stay-at-home mother, she was active in her community, including being involved with the Blind Foundation (now known as Blind Low Vision NZ).
Stella and Jim lived in their own home well into their 90s and while Jim has now passed away, Stella, remained in the family home until she was an incredible 94! She’s now a resident at Enliven Holmdene, which, in her own words, is “pretty good.”
If there’s one thing that many people don’t know about Stella is that she was a keen diarist, keeping a day-to-day record of her activities when the family moved to New Zealand. While her intention was to start one each year and complete it, the reality was somewhat different, Stella confessing being unable to complete most of them, not for lack of trying! Nevertheless, her entries are a snapshot of what life was like many years ago in New Zealand.