World's Oldest Blogger -- Now In Blogger Heaven

I would love to still be alive and blogging at 108! Although I have gotta say that blogging will probably be technology of the past. Innovation and the need to develop new technologies will mean that blogging will undoubtedly become obsolete, and probably sooner rather than later. Nevertheless, whatever takes its place I want to be doing it at 108. Hopefully, I will still be able to see and hear then.

Olive Riley, who lived in Woy Woy on the NSW Central Coast, died in her nursing home early yesterday morning. I had never heard of this old bird nor her writings. Both, apparently are going to be missed, Olive by her family and friends and Olive by the many thousands of people who visited her personal musings.

The technology is amazing in that the world is becoming an increasingly smaller place all the time. According to her great grandson, Darren Stone, Olive loved to communicate and had regular correspondence going on with readers in the US and in Russia.

Olive had led an interesting, some might say extraordinary life raising three children on her own, living through two world wars and the Depression, working as a station cook in rural Queensland, as an egg sorter, and barmaid in Sydney throughout those 108 full years. Since February last year she had managed to post more than 70 entries on her blogs.

Olive's blogs can be found here and here. After one particular post Olive's blog had more than 350,000 hits. Truly amazing!

Olive Riley was born in 1899, and would have turned 109 on October 20.

I have stopped by to both blogs and I wish I had found the old dame a little sooner.

RIP Olive Riley.

Sharks in Lakes

Nothing like a shark story to scare the masses. A report out of New South Wales says that a seven-metre great white shark was netted and released into a Tuggerah Lake on the Central Coast of NSW. The shark was netted by a commercial fisherman and it is this fisherman that reported the release.

Tuggerah Lake is a popular swimming spot. So, the idea of a big shark in the lake is a matter of considerable concern. The police have said they have no reason to doubt the fisherman's account of what happened and have therefore issued a warning.

The fisherman himself has no intention of talking to the media about his close encounter. It seems that the fisherman has a long-standing distrust of the media.

Postscript:

A question from one of the people who commented on this post sparked a renewed search on this matter.

The lake system is not saltwater. Great white sharks do not tolerate non-salt water environments very well. So, most experts agree that if there is a shark in there then it is likely to be hanging around the entrance to the lake looking to get back out to the ocean.

Apparently the entrance to the lake is only about 30cms deep in its deepest part. Therefore, it seems inconceivable that a seven metre shark made its way across that bit of water.

Perhaps the commercial fisherman's distrust of the media is warranted in light of these most recent revelations.

Maybe this is a fishy tale after all!