Their brother, Neville Morgan, said the women had been thrown so many challenges throughout their lives that it was a miracle they were here today.
That is why Leanne, the mother of five, moved to Katherine in the Northern Territory 23 years ago; to turn her life around.
Her identical twin sister, Glenda, remained in Shepparton, where the pair — and about 70 family members — were set to reunite to mark their 50th milestone at the Peppermill Inn at the weekend.
Leanne’s daughter Drucilla Morgan organised the party for her mother and aunty and said it was a really special occasion because most of the time her mother returned to the region was for the much less joyous occasion of farewelling a family member.
“The only time our families really get together is for funerals,” Drucilla said.
“So for her 50th, I just wanted to do something big where we could all just get together and it not be about losing someone.”
After flying Leanne to Melbourne, where Drucilla currently lives, she brought her home to Shepparton to go dress shopping and to have her hair and make-up done on Friday ahead of the celebration.
“They don’t really get that kind of treatment often,” Drucilla said.
“They’ve had a really hard life.”
From a family of 10 kids, the only twins in the mix were excited to dress in matching outfits again for their party, but with Drucilla and their only older sibling, brother Neville, saying they don’t look as identical these days, guests wouldn’t have had a problem telling them apart.
The pair said as youngsters the twins would use their matching looks to trick people, even switching classrooms at school if one didn’t feel like attending a particular subject one day.
Family travelled from many corners of Australia for the occasion, including a brother from Adelaide Leanne hadn’t seen since 2001, and Leanne’s six-year-old granddaughter, who also took the journey from Katherine to meet the rest of the family she had never met before.
Glenda reached the milestone about five minutes before Leanne, so while she can still technically claim “big sister” bragging rights, after five decades, five minutes may no longer count.
“This moment has arrived and it’s such a miracle just to make it this far, to be here breathing on this Earth,” Neville said.
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