Mary Penton , seen here playing drums with wooden coathangers, died recently in Darwin , aged 94. Known as the Op Shop Queen because of her many years with the Nightcliff Uniting Church Op Shop , her unknown prowess as a drummer was revealed when the drum kit was set up in the church in readiness for a service , without drumsticks .
On December 10, 2011, Mary turned 90 and op shop staff held a special party in the church at which the lighthearted ditty about her , below , composed by artist Shirley Downing, widow of Reverend Jim Downing , of Alice Springs , was sung to the tune of Sydney's Hornsby Girls' High School song , Mary and Shirley both pupils there .
During WWll, Mary, initially employed inspecting materials bought for the armed forces , became a member of the Women's Australian Air Force, the WAAFS, and made a helicopter flight in the early 1950s. Her funeral service will be at the Nightcliff Uniting Church on September 29 .
