Seafood could be one of the secrets to living a long life, according to the son of Carinity Fairfield Grange's first centenarian.

Amy Beasley has been inducted into the Carinity 100 Club for centenarians after celebrating her 100th birthday on May 7.

She was born Amy Bolam in Charters Towers in 1922, the second of nine children. Amy grew up in the small sugar cane town Giru, located between Townsville and Ayr.

Times were tough for the Bolam family during the Great Depression, but Amy’s son Bob Beasley reckons it may have helped contribute to his mother’s longevity.

“The Depression years and grinding poverty caused the family to innovate to cope. The three older brothers supplied an adequate quantity of prawns, mud crab and barramundi which was the staple diet – and perhaps the cause of her long life,” Bob said.

Amy’s early memories of growing up in Giru include receiving a sausage from the butcher at Christmas, a “real treat and a change from the seafood staple”.

As was common during that era, Amy left Giru primary school before completing her studies. One of her first jobs was working as a housemaid at the local hotel at the age of 14.

Amy met and married Frank Beasley, a timber mill labourer and future taxi driver, soon after the end of World War II. They built their first home in Townsville and began raising four children.

As her children grew up, Amy was very active assisting with school and church activities. She enjoyed playing tennis and loved gardening and cooking.

Amy rode a Daimler Pusch motor scooter then upgraded to a Morris Minor ute, used to transport children to swimming holes and buy eggs from a farm on the way home.

Amy, who has seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, loved to travel. She and Frank drove their camper van around Australia and Amy visited Canada, USA, Ireland, UK, and Norfolk Island.

Later in life, she enjoyed keeping pace with joggers on Townsville bikeways while riding her mobility scooter, giving kids on skateboards a tow.​​​​​​​