Lennox Head icon Delia turns 90

THERE was a time when it would have been very hard to keep a secret from Lennox Head's Delia Gibbon.

But last Sunday, the Lennox icon had no idea of the surprise party to be held at the Lennox Head Bowls and Sports Club to mark her 90th birthday.

She enjoyed the effort put in by her family and friends in keeping the secret, then enjoyed a quiet day on her actual birthday on Tuesday, July 31.

Delia was the postmistress in the coastal village for 50 years, retiring when she was aged in her seventies.

Born in Ballina, her family lived in the Figtree Hill area of Lennox Head before the village was subdivided, with her father and mother, Sydney and Sibylla, running a dairy farm.

There were six children in the family. Delia and sisters Evette Chaseling and Dorothy Thompson are the only surviving members. They moved to a house near Lake Ainsworth after the village subdivision was finalised in November 1922.

Delia said she had seen all the changes at Lennox Head - she has lived in the village all her life, apart from a six-month stint near Moree.

Reflecting on the growth of Lennox, she said there were some things she liked about the town today, but some things she didn't. "It was a lovely little quiet town, and it's grown out of all proportion," she said.

"It's grown too much.

"Money is taking over."

As in other towns, she said, the "drug and alcohol" culture left a lot to be desired.

Delia still loves living at Lennox Head, but admits the days have gone when she would know lots of people when walking along the main street.