Magnificent Milly She's A Real Purler At 102!

The Auckland Centenarian's Knitting Keeps Premature Babies Warm

- Fleur Mealing

It was 93 years ago when a nine-year-old Millicent McComb first picked up a pair of knitting needles – well actually, they were just sharpened bike spokes.

Now 102 – and with a full collection of proper knitting needles – Milly, as she’s affectionately known, still knits every single day, and it’s all to help babies in need.

Over her three years at Auckland’s Greenvalley Rest Home, Milly has knitted more than 400 garments for premature babies who so desperately need warmth. Though she has never met any of the babies she has knitted for, she continues to get joy out of it. “I’ve never been bored with it because you are creating something,” tells Milly. “I have had great pleasure in giving to a person I know will appreciate it.”

You could be mistaken for thinking Milly was much younger than she actually is. When the Weekly visits, she is smart in her pink dress with matching cardigan, and basks in the sunlight coming through the conservatory window.