“I’m having a big party. But I’m having it [on Sunday] because I didn’t want to miss this because it was so important to me,” she said. 

Mrs Selby and her best friend, Beverly Bishop, were just two of about 500 people who attended the reunion on Saturday to relive the nostalgia. 

“We met here more than 60 years ago and we’re still friends today,” she said. 

“Beverly was my bridesmaid when I got married and when worked at Coats Patons, I used to ride a push bike to the mill because and every-now-and-then Beverly would get on the back and I’d dink her home.”

In 1963, Patti Crawford appeared on the front page of The Examiner after she won the mill’s sports day. 

Mrs Crawford carried the cup, and a photo album around the event, happily telling everyone she won it from nine yards.

“The cup doesn’t look as good as it did back then, the base has fallen off it and it was polished up,” she said.

Many stories were told throughout the reunion, but none as special as Carleen and Denis Lockwood’s. 

The pair met more than 35 years ago in the carting and combing room. 

“Carleen was working further down the mill and then she came to work where I was working as the foreman. She latched on to the foreman and that was about 38 years ago,” Mr Lockwood said.

Mrs Lockwood said her version of the story was pretty similar. 

“We really met at one of the bowls club dinners at one of the dances and that’s how it all started,” she said.  

“It was a good place to work, lots and lots of memories, it’s good to be back.” 

Organiser Avery Harwood said  the reunion was about getting everyone back together one last time. 

“We showed 1055 photos, then we did some tours. Everyone just had a chat and caught up with each other. There were laughs, tears and hugs,” he said. 

Mr Harwood said Coats Patons’ history in Launceston was important. 

“It’s basically built most of Launceston because a lot of people that earned money here built houses and had children and bought them Christmas presents,” he said.

“There were 2200 people who worked here during the peak time.”

The mill closed in 1997 after 72 years. 

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