Period garb for

By Monique Ebrington
FEW people choose to spend their 60th birthday in period garb at Puffing Billy.
Neither did Don Valley resident Sharon Ball.
Her seven friends and fellow members of the Yarra Junction Family History Group surprised Sharon by turning up to her house in a minibus and with a 1800s inspired costume for her to wear.
Sharon said the family history group meets each month at Yarra Junction Library and has been running for decades.
“We research our own personal family genealogy and we’ve become a great group of friends as well,” Sharon said.
“Even though I’ve been stuck, looking for family records in Ireland, for a few years I still go for the friendship of it and you can help other people with their own genealogies.”
She said it was quite a surprise when her friends turned up to her house calling ‘Mistress Ball, Mistress Ball’ from the minibus.
“Everyone had such a wonderful time,” she said.
“It wasn’t just my birthday, it was also a great fun day for all my friends.”
After lunch, the women played old-fashioned games, which included an egg and spoon relay, knuckle bones, horse shoes and boot throwing. The highlight for the women and the tourists who watched on was the traditional cherry pip spitting competition.
Sharon said her novel birthday was the perfect way to mark a chapter in her own history.