One of the true great characters of the Fleurieu Peninsula, Walter (Wally) Reginald Tonkin, reached an important milestone on February 28.
Wally who was born in Strathalbyn in 1934, turned 90.
His son Phillip and Phil’s wife Maz threw Wally a surprise 90th birthday party at Phil and Maz’s farm on Winery Road, Currency Creek on February 25.
Maz cooked up loads of different hot meals for the day, while Phil smoked food for the invited 25 friends and family.
They represented all different stages of Wallys life, from the winery years through to the horse racing years.
Wally went to school in Macclesfield, where he rode his black pony to school every day.
He owned a milk run when he lived in Mount Barker after he married Rosemary.
Wally built the Currency Creek winery in 1969 and bred and trained his own racehorses.
Wally has achieved great things over his life, including planting the first vineyard in Currency Creek and establishing a successful winery and restaurant, having a wharf named after him and breeding and training horses to compete and win races at metropolitan and country race tracks.
Wally trained the horse Streak, which won the 2000 Sydney Cup.
It was planned to run the horse in the Melbourne Cup that same year, but was scratched due to injury, never to race again.
Wally and Rosemary adopted two children Phillip and Julie.
He has four grandchildren, James, Louis, Samantha, Rhiannon and three great-grandchildren.
Wally is able to live at home and copes well with some outside help.
“The secret to living so long is good genes, as my sister is 93 and a good scotch,” Wally joked.
