Ranks of centenarians grow

It's the club we all want to join but most of us never will.

As the Bay's population ages the group of people who have had their 100th birthday grows.

While it is unclear exactly how many people in the Bay are aged over 100, calls to rest homes in the region revealed there are at least six and another six who were nearing the big milestone.

More than 12 were hoping to turn 100 in two years.

Kerry Brown from Cedar Manor said her two eldest residents - 101-year-old Mae Hawkes and 99-year-old Jim Owen - were "sharp as thumb tacks".

They both play cards three mornings a week.

Mr Owen, whose birthday is in November, said the key to reaching his age was staying physically and mentally active

"[Card games] are keeping my mind active, sometimes she wins and sometimes I do, it's quite evenly matched," he said.

He joked he would like to visit Australia to celebrate his 100th birthday but might have to settle for a day with friends and family.

"When I tell them I want to aim for a century they all think it's silly to want to live that long and they say 'you must have had an easy life'. But I did everything I shouldn't do. I worked on the farm and we used things like arsenic sheep dip and other poisons, those are supposed to kill you. But I'm still here," he said.

Jo Allen, the clinical leader at Elmswood Resthome, said women were living longer than men and there were more women in residential care at Elmswood. "The age of people in residential care has also increased so it is clear people are living longer."

She said the people she cares for were "full of life" and had "so much experience".

Statistics New Zealand last week revealed the number of people over 85 had tripled in the past 30 years. In the Bay of Plenty the number of people aged over 65 from 39,200 in 2006 to 43,600 in June last year.

Statistics New Zealand population statistics manager Andrea Blackburn said as of March 31 this year, about one out of every 60 New Zealanders was older than 85 years old. "Longevity has increased over time, resulting in a greater number of people in the older ages than seen previously," she said.

Ida Hamilton, 103

Surrounded by a group of family and friends, Tauranga's Ida Hamilton smiled and cut her birthday cake on Wednesday. "It's a sultana cake, my favourite," she said.

Mrs Hamilton turned 103 and celebrated the occasion at the Tauranga Lyceum Club.

Mrs Hamilton lives independently and once a week she is visited by a woman who helps with the laundry.

"I can cook for myself, I do my washing but I can't hang it out ... That's the only thing I can't do."

In her younger years, Mrs Hamilton excelled in croquet. She is a life member of the Tauranga Lyceum Club and she visits the club about three times a week to play bridge and other card games.

Reaching 103 was a special occasion but Mrs Hamilton said being that age was sometimes lonely.

"I love the club because everyone here is so friendly and I don't know how I would live without them. All my friends have gone now and it's hard to make new friends, but these ladies are wonderful."

Mrs Hamilton has survived her six brothers and one sister and she said celebrating her 103rd birthday was "quite an achievement".

'It is pleasant and as long as I'm feeling all right, I'm happy."

Mae Hawkes, 101

Dressed in a lavender blouse and matching skirt and cardigan, Cedar Manor resident Mae Hawkes laughs as she remembers her childhood in the King Country.

"We lived far out in the country and it was 10 miles to the nearest settlement ... My mother had to go to Auckland every time she was expecting a baby, and my mum and dad had a hammock around their necks . . . So that's how I came back from Auckland, in a hammock on a horse."

Mrs Hawkes turned 101 in October and apart from age-related ailments, Mrs Hawkes makes the most of her active mind - she plays cards with another Cedar Manor resident three mornings a week. Crib and 500 are preferred, on a crib board her father made more than 100 years ago.

Reading is another activity, and Mrs Hawkes believes she's read almost every large-print book in Tauranga Library. She also shops for her own groceries every week.

Mrs Hawkes said she's done "everything she shouldn't", and nurse Kerry Brown attests to her love of cream. "She has about a quarter of a bottle on her dessert every day."

 "I haven't changed my figure since I was a teenager. I was a size 12 back then and I am a size 12 now."

Elsie Toms, 101

Elsie Toms sits near the window in her room at Matua Lifecare Centre and looks out at the wild weather.

"It's cosy in here though, it's nice and warm," she said.

Elsie is turning 102 in August but you wouldn't guess her age if you didn't ask. She is talkative and friendly, and is extremely mobile.

She was the eldest of seven children and didn't go to school until she was eight years old - that's when the first school in Taihape was built.

"We helped our mum around the house, she didn't have time to teach all seven of us and I'm told we were quite well behaved," she said. She married at the age of 24 to her first husband who she met at a skating rink. Together they had three sons.

When one son became ill, the family moved to Tauranga to be close to the hospital. Her first husband soon passed away and years later Mrs Toms remarried. Together they travelled to Australia and had "lots of fun".

Today, Mrs Toms spends much of her day reading.

"The one I'm reading at the moment is a mystery, but I also quite enjoy a good love story," she said.

Her secret to a long, successful life was to live life to the full and not have any regrets.

Florence Harvey, 104

At 104 years old, Florence Harvey is fit as a fiddle and lives at Melrose Park Lifestyle Care and Village in Tauranga.

 Her day begins at 5.30am and she has the newspaper delivered to her bed, where she also has breakfast. She enjoys spending her day with the "wonderful people and amazing staff" at Melrose Park.

Mrs Harvey, who is turning 105 next month, was born soon after the Wright brothers first flight, celebrated when Sir Edmund Hillary conquered Everest and marvelled at the invention of television. She said there were "tough" times in her life but her sense of humour and positive attitude helped her through.

She also said her strong faith in God kept her going.

Pictured above: Ida Hamilton and Mae Hawkes. Pictured below: Florence Harvey and Elsie Toms