The story of Marie Cahill
In our latest edition of The Guild Digest, we are delighted to share the incredible story of member Marie Cahill, a war widow who has lived a life full of adventure, resilience and passion. There is a well-known saying, ‘Age is just a number’ and Marie Cahill has proved it to be true. Marie has just turned 105 years old this February. Her life tells the story of a remarkable and inspiring woman who has repeatedly defied gender and age stereotypes.
Born in Broken Hill on 19 February 1920, Marie moved with her family to Narrandera, in the Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, when she was six years old and has lived there ever since. She is still living in her own home independently although she now gets Meals on Wheels five days a week.
A passion for horse riding
The first chapter of Marie’s incredible life story is her horse riding days. When Marie was a young girl in Narrandera, she developed a deep love of horse riding and became quite good at it. As a teenager, Marie rode in a number of agricultural shows in the Riverina region, picking up accolades along the way.
Her first award came in October 1932. Marie placed second at the Narrandera Jubilee Show in the ‘Girl Rider Under 13 years’ category. A few years later, in 1935 when she was 15 years old, she again placed second but this time at the Griffith Show in the ‘Best Girl Rider Award’ in the open class.
That same year, Marie left school but continued to ride in district shows where she came either first or second in 10 events at the Narrandera Shows between 1935 and 1946.
Marie’s family life
Not long after the Second World War started, Marie became engaged to Narrandera local, William Arthur “Dally” Wyatt. They married that same year and a year later, in 1941, had their first and only child – a daughter named Ronda.
Like so many families of that generation, war separated them for a long time. Eighteen months after Ronda was born, in December 1942, Dally was called up for military service. He would be gone for much of the next three years and would go on to serve in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
It was also during this time that Marie continued to make a name for herself riding horses. During the war years and for a time afterward, Marie was asked to ride in local horse races. Marie was the only female jockey competing in those days, proving that women – and mothers – were capable of more than the societal expectations of the time.
A career in dressmaking
Several years after Dally returned from war, at age 29, Marie started working at a local dress shop. She worked as an assistant to the dress maker, Flo Harris, making alterations to garments. She worked there on and off from 1949 to 1963.
Following her time in Mrs Harris’ dress shop, Marie started studying at the Narrandera Technical College in the mid-late 1960s. By now, Marie was in her mid-40s. She studied a number of courses part-time, including floral art and woodwork, which she each studied for two years. Other courses she undertook included leatherwork, landscape painting, bark painting, china painting, stretch sewing, heirloom sewing, patchwork and even public speaking.
Proving you can master new skills and knowledge at any age, Marie gained her teacher’s certificate in Brazilian Embroidery and during the 1980s, when she was in her 60s, she taught it at a local material shop in Narrandera.
Sadly, however, on 16 August 1980, just 10 days after his 72nd birthday, Marie’s husband, Dally, passed away in his sleep. A few years after Dally’s passing, Marie married Vince Cahill and together they started travelling around Australia and overseas. This would be the start of many adventures for Marie.
Travelling around the world
Marie’s first overseas holiday was around her 65th birthday. She travelled with Vince to America. The following year she travelled to Japan and Korea, as well as to England, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy. The year after that, in 1987, Marie and Vince towed a camper-trailer with their Subaru Sportswagon and toured New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia.
Unfortunately, in the years that followed, Vince’s health declined and he passed away in January 1993. In November that year, at age 73, Marie travelled through Europe with her niece, Annette. They visited Italy, France, Holland, Belgium and Germany – where she enjoyed a white Christmas with the family of Annette’s husband.
Marie recalls that one of the highlights of the visit was singing Jingle Bells while riding toboggans on the snow one night at Schladming in Austria.
Her overseas adventures since then are many. She has seen the Niagara Falls and road tripped across Canada and America with daughter Ronda and granddaughter Jennifer. Marie, Ronda and Jennifer also attended a Webster Family Reunion in Ohio on this trip. She has travelled to Uzbekistan, Korea, China, Vietnam and Laos. She has taken a helicopter flight over the Franz Joseph Glacier on the South Island of New Zealand. For her 95th birthday, Marie enjoyed a South-Pacific Cruise that included island hoping in French Polynesia.
If you need any more proof that age is just a number, back in January 2003, for her upcoming 83rd birthday, Marie climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Time-and-time again, Marie has proved stereotypes wrong with her go-getting attitude, inspiring her family, friends and countless others over the course of her life.
If you were to flick through the albums of her life, the photos tell the story of a woman who sought excitement and adventure; who loves her family and friends and is deeply loved in return; who made deep connections in the Narrandera community and served her community in many roles; and who truly lives life to the fullest.
At 105 years old, Marie teaches us one of the greatest lessons of all: age really is just a number. View Marie’s story on pages 12 to 13 in our Summer 2025 edition of The Guild Digest.
