Bolton Clarke Moreton Shores resident Bette Pini will celebrate the latest additions to her residential aged care community with the completion of an al fresco functions area overlooking the lake, a gym, café and cinema room, landscaped gardens with a children’s playground and 56 new residential aged care suites in September.
Ms Pini, 97, has lived in the community for the past six years and was recently asked for feedback on the new bedrooms in the 56-bed wing extension. Her suggestions which included longer hanging space and layout tips have been incorporated into the final designs.
As a great grandmother to 26 with 20 grand children and six children, the playground was also a welcome addition.
Ms Pini was born Fuschia Davis in Toowoomba but adopted the name Bette after film star Bette Davis on the suggestion of an Australian soldier. She married John Pini, who had served in the 6th Division South Pacific War Reinforcements in PNG during World War Two, and raised her family in Rabaul, Lae and Port Moresby.
John took a job as a senior clerk after the war and made a significant contribution to PNG sport including organising the first South Pacific Games, taking teams of up to 300 athletes to other islands to compete. His work earned him an MBE in 1975.
The family’s love of sport continued down the generations, with the pair’s grandson Ryan Pini winning gold for PNG in the 100m butterfly event at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and also competing in the Olympics.
