A hard-working woman shared a bottle of sherry in Mosgiel yesterday to celebrate her 100th birthday.
Mossbrae Healthcare resident Fair Graham celebrated 100 years with about 30 family and friends at the Mosgiel rest-home.
Longevity was in the genes and her identical twin sister Dark Robson had lived to the age of 95.
The nicknames of the women came about when someone noticed the only difference between the sisters was one had slightly lighter hair than the other.
Mrs Graham's daughter Louise Deans said the twins' real names were Margaret (Fair) and Rohoda (Dark) but the two women had only answered to their nicknames.
The birthday girl was one of six children, who included two sets of twins.
Her brother, Lin Aitken (88), of Waimate, enjoyed a nip of sherry yesterday, poured from a bottle given to his sister to celebrate the big day.
Mr Aitken said his twin sisters, who were born and raised in East Taieri before moving to Dunedin, had been ''as thick as thieves''.
Mr Aitken said Fair Graham raised a family on a farm near Hindon and never shirked a hard day's work.
Her granddaughter Denise Deans (50), of Dunedin, agreed.
''Nana's done really well because she was a city girl who ended way up on Mount John cooking for shearers and bringing up kids. She had to learn how to toughen up really quick.''
