An elderly couple with nine grandchildren have proved it’s never too late to go travelling — after a $10 random act of kindness led to their dream trip around Australia. Ronan, 70, and his wife Maura, 71, bought a $10 charity raffle ticket — but thought nothing of it until a phone call out of the blue changed their lives. The couple, from the Sydney suburb of Manly, not only won $100,000 in gold bullion, but a Volkswagen Crafter Kampervan.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today So in August 2023, the travellers hit the road in their new home on wheels. Over the next eight months, the pair visited 58 locations during their epic Big Lap of Australia. “We only realised the extent of our luck when we saw the van; we have not won anything in the past,” Ronan tells 7Life.
“We still pinch ourselves when we see the van on returning from the shops and think ...
that it is ours.” Long before embarking on the trip of a lifetime, the couple moved to Australia from Ireland 31 years ago, and are now Australian citizens. Ronan retired from a career in health care in 2020 while Maura worked in real estate.
The couple have three adult kids and are constantly busy with nine grandchildren. In the lead up to winning the raffle, the couple had attended a caravan and camping show in Brisbane. Following the event, Ronan received a “last chance reminder” email to enter the “Play for Purpose” raffle, supporting the not-for-profit National Seniors Australia.
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