Thelma McGee is a warm-hearted, crusty but lovable older woman who is Sonny’s partner at Habitat.
When we meet ‘Thel’ she is the sole owner of the little animal park on the river behind Surfers Paradise.
The very success of the place means that it has become too much for Thel, and she puts up the ‘For Sale’ sign and receives and offer, but comes to realise that the offer is not quite what it seems, and when Sonny and the twins come looking for a place where they can live with their beloved Skippy, she is more than happy to accept Sonny as a joint owner.
In the process, Thel not only gains a partner, she gains a family.
Thel is unique. In the changing tourist world of the Gold Coast, she is a constant.
She was brought up on one of the dairy farms that abounded on the South Coast of Queensland long before anybody thought of calling it the Gold Coast.
She therefore has a store of knowledge that is phenomenal – she knows everyone and everything around the district and a great deal about animals, domestic and native.
But this is not what endears her to the Hammond family and to the audience. Her appeal lies in her personality – forthright, outspoken and fiercely loyal to her friends, she has a manner that is sometimes brusque, but which hides a heart of gold.
She would never let on how much she comes to care for Sonny or the twins, but in fact, as time goes by, she’d do anything for them and gladly helps fill the gap left because the family has no mother.