That’s a lot of candles: Three supercentenarians to celebrate 102nd birthdays

For the first time ever, a Palmerston rest home is hosting three 102nd birthdays back-to-back. At 101 years old, Arthur Driver may hold the title of oldest person in Palmerston — but only by a few weeks. On Sunday he is turning 102 years old. He is quickly followed by fellow Paramount Healthcare Rest Home resident Shirley Gillies, 101, a few weeks later. Then in October, Valerie Jenkins, 101, will also be celebrating her 102nd trip around the sun. It is the first time the small Palmerston rest home has celebrated such a feat, caretaker Linda Duncan said. “Must be thanks to some good rural living.” The trio, all born in 1924, each had their own age-defying quirk. Mr Driver, a World War 2 veteran, was once the country’s oldest president of a Returned and Services Association branch. He lived in his own home across the road from the rest home until quite recently. Mrs Gillies is known to treat residents and staff alike to some beautifully played sonatas on the piano in the morning, after lunch, and before bed. Mrs Jenkins refused to give up wearing her beloved high-heels until very recently. Yesterday, staff and residents gathered to celebrate the first of the string of 102nd birthdays. Mr Driver, whose birthday is on Sunday, was treated to food, cake, and a riveting live-music performance. Asked whether he was enjoying the festivities, he said the day was “definitely better” than the previous day. “I didn’t expect this; I was very surprised.” He also never expected to make it to 102 years old. When he was 15, war was declared. After convincing his parents to allow him to enlist, 17-year-old Mr Driver was shipped north to a camp in Rongotai, near Wellington, where he trained. He found himself serving in Fiji, and before he could be shipped out for Japan near the end of the war, he was involved in a jeep accident. Mr Driver dislocated his knees and a hip, a bone in his arm was protruding from his skin, two vertebrae in his back shifted, and he sustained a head injury. He came back to New Zealand in a full-body cast. “I never thought I’d reach it, I never thought I would survive the war, and I never thought I would survive the crash.” Once given the all-clear to leave Auckland where he was recuperating after his crash, he was back to Dunedin. A week after his return, he was walking down the aisle to marry his fiancee Joyce Wieck at First Church. “Joyce had to wait four-and-a-half years to get married … she looked just beautiful that day, she did.” Mrs Driver died in the late 1990s. The couple would have six children, though two had died, and Mr Arthur spent the bulk of his working life as the service station manager for Gardner Motors in central Dunedin. He retired in 1984, aged 60, and in 2015 he decided to move to Palmerston. He said all three of the supercentenarians would agree that reaching 102 was something that had more to do with luck than anything else. “Nobody can expect it to make it this long,” he said. laine.priestley@odt.co.nz

That’s a lot of candles: Three supercentenarians to celebrate 102nd birthdays

South Island man given home detention over child exploitation images

Tech titan ordered to pay wife more than $1bn in divorce settlement

Officer shot, man found dead after standoff in Queensland

Green Party determined to return to government benches

Erika Fairweather wins NZ's first medal at 2026 Commonwealth Games