It was a celebration of the century – for a century – as Cooinda Coonabarabran provided a local resident with a heart-warming birthday morning tea.

This week Cooinda celebrated 100 years of Catherine (Kitty) Hallin, surrounding her with balloons, friends, family and Turkish delights.

Mrs Hall reflected on her century and expressed her gratitude towards her life and the people who contributed to it.

Originally from England, Mrs Hallin and her family wanted more opportunity after serving and surviving World War II.

Experiencing WWII meant Mrs Hallin had to send her son off to war, while she remained and worked on a farm with other woman under the Women’s Land Army. They were known as Land Girls and replaced male farm workers who had gone to war.

She enjoyed the work and jokingly said she wished she had married a farmer, however, Australia had more to offer her children and she was loved by her husband, a coal man at the time.

During the war, Australia was advertised throughout England as a good place for families to move.

Once settled in Australia Mrs Hallin worked in a hostel and eventually trained as a nurse.

She said moving was one of the best decisions she could have made.

“It was so smoggy in England from the bombing, I couldn’t see in front of me - I once went straight into a brick wall and broke my two front teeth because of the smog,” Mrs Hallin said.

“If you feel you want to move, don’t think too much about it. If it is an improvement, don’t hesitate.”

Mrs Hallin’s secret to longevity was to “eat right and don’t over indulge”.

“I also treated people how I would like to be treated. We are all in this together,” she said.

Throughout her life Mrs Hallin saw a lot of change. She witnessed the birth and death of the Queen, noticed many changes in food and its accessibility, and many societal changes, specifically with male and female roles.

Currently residing in Cooinda, Mrs Hallin has made many friends who gathered to celebrate with her.

“This is the first time in my life I have had anything like this. I am happy I live here!”