Community
11 October, 2025
Mary Walklate gives her all
MARY Walklate has always had her hands full. And while she says that, mainly speaking about looking after her children while husband Brian cared for the community as Charlton’s doctor for 57 years, it’s more than that.
MARY Walklate has always had her hands full.
And while she says that, mainly speaking about looking after her children while husband Brian cared for the community as Charlton’s doctor for 57 years, it’s more than that.
Because Mary is more than a doctor’s wife, she’s always had her own passion for helping others.
“Volunteers are the back bone of our community,” Mary said.
“None of us would be here if it weren’t for them.”
And if you ask anyone in town, they would say the same thing of Mary.
Because while she was juggling her four children - and now her nine grand children and 15 great-grandchildren (with more on the way) - she was supporting a number of causes.
Because she loves Charlton - more than anything.
“I’ve had some of my happiest times here,” she said.
“People are so kind and honest, that’s why I wanted to help where I could.”
Mary supported a number of causes in her time, and still does, one of those being art in the community.
“We wanted to get an art group going,” she said.
“There’s been so many talented artists in the area, they deserved some recogniton.
“We wanted to get Charlton going again.”
Mary recently saw her passion project come full circle when she was invited to open Mallee Creatives last week.
“It was such a lovely evening, I caught up with so many people I knew,” she said.
Mary was no stranger to a good fundraiser, taking part in a number of them.
“Back in the 1960s, we were without a kindergarten, and that wasn’t right,” she said.
“There was also a group campaigning for a new health centre at the same time. We knew there was no use fighting each other for funding, so we came together.”
The groups were able to secure Charlton’s first preschool in 1962 in Armstrong Street, with room on the land for a front building that would be used for community health.
Mary said the go-to fundraising technique was a baked goods stall down the street.
“It was always a hit. It was easy for people to just duck down the street and know there would be a stall there waiting for them.
“People would know we would have cakes and slices ready.”
Mary was known to make a nice date slice.
Modestly, she said she wasn’t much of a baker, but she could as she was named a novice at the Charlton Show for her fruit cake and sponges.
“I think I may have won second prize one year for a tapestry I’d done,” she said.
All said as she worked on a plan for her next knitted entry for the upcoming Charlton Show - baby’s clothes.
Mary also gave her time to the Red Cross, representing the area in Melbourne a number of times.
“I would always travel around the district, gathering information on what other teams were up to and report back to the Melbourne unit,” she said.
There was always time for a bit of sport too, with Mary representing in tennis, golf and croquet.
“I mainly did it because I loved the fresh air,” she said.
“I always thought golf courses were such beautiful places.”
Mary also followed AFL football, bleeding black, white and red like her mother.
“I remember my mother and aunty being in Melbourne the one and only time St Kilda won a premiership in their lifetime,” she said.
“I was home in Charlton but mum and my aunty danced around the kitchen table, they were that excited.
“It’s the year of the Saints next year, I just know it.”
Mary’s life has slowed down now, but she doesn’t enjoy it any less.
Now affectionately known as GiGi, she lives for the days she can have her family visit her in the Charlton nursing home.
And in all her 99 years of life, Mary still has a positive outlook.
“You’ve just got to press on,” she said.
“You can remember the sad times, but always make time for the good. “I don’t have time to die, just keep living.”
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