Paddy laps up an active lifestyle

At 100 years of age, it might be understandable to want to put your feet up and relax, but not Paddy Gearon from Living Gems Gold Coast.

He still walks, does daily push-ups and covers the miles on an exercise bike. In particular, Paddy is making the most of the resort’s indoor heated pool and spa where you’ll find him three to four times a week.

“Paddy is an amazing man who is out and about every morning,” said Living Gems Gold Coast Resort Manager Chelsie Steele. “He has always been active as a cyclist and as a walker, but after a few falls, Paddy prefers the swimming pool because he says it doesn’t hurt if he falls over!”

A brand-new indoor heated swimming pool and spa opened at the resort late last year and the facility has become a favourite destination for homeowners looking to relax and to keep up with their fitness.

“The pool building has brand-new resort-style furniture and large windows that overlook the Coombabah Lakelands Conservation Reserve,” said Chelsie. “Homeowners love the magnesium-infused pool and they hold water aerobics classes several times a week.”

Paddy and his wife Elva, who passed away in 2019, were among the first homeowners at the over-50s resort when it opened in 1994.

In those early days, Paddy, with his accordion, joined other homeowners from the resort to entertain residents in nursing homes between Toowoomba and Murwillumbah.

The Gearon family – Paddy, Elva and their six children – left the changeable weather of Victoria for the more pleasant climates of the Gold Coast in 1967 and became tourism pioneers when Paddy purchased the Shangri-la cruise boat. The cruises would become an institution with both locals and tourists enjoying day-long excursions from Surfers Paradise to South Stradbroke Island.

Guests on the Shangri-la were treated to their choice of activities from fishing, swimming or sunbathing, through to adventure activities such as sand tobogganing to waterskiing and aquaplaning. Morning and afternoon tea was included onboard the boat, while a t-bone steak lunch was held on South Stradbroke Island.

Later, the Gearons would purchase the boat, the Scimitar, and cruise the city’s extensive waterways.

That ‘just being on holidays’ feeling is something that homeowners at Living Gems Gold Coast are familiar with.

“We have such a lovely community here,” said Chelsie. “Everyone is so friendly and looks out for one another.

“Our resort has just elected a new social coordinator and the homeowners are getting ready for a Melbourne Cup lunch as well as a lawn bowls social trip.”