Esther Smith had a bigger birthday party than most people, but then, she has more life experience than most to celebrate.
Five generations of her family were among more than 150 people who gathered to mark Mrs Smith's 100th birthday at Cromwell over the weekend.
"Nana Smith'' as she is known, has lived at Ripponburn Home for the past five years. She and her late husband Jim had seven children and that family has now grown to include 32 grandchildren, 54 great-grandchildren and 14 great-great grandchildren - 107 descendants in total.
Mrs Smith, nee Symons, was one of seven children who grew up at Menzies Ferry in Southland. She attended Menzies Ferry School until she was 12 and then returned home to milk cows.
A keen horsewoman, Mrs Smith helped drive cattle from Edendale to Balclutha to stock sales. She and her sister Emily later managed a farm several kilometres from the home farm.
She married in 1938. Mr Smith was a dairy factory manager, so the couple shifted to different places around the Mataura Valley and eventually Invercargill. In later years, the Smiths moved to Monowai and enjoyed hosting family and friends there.
After Mr Smith died in 1998, Mrs Smith lived with family in Arrowtown for several years and then moved to Ripponburn.
Her family say Mrs Smith's lovely smile reflects her personality and her caring nature also has shone through in the dozens of letters she has sent to family and friends over the years, all in rhyming verse, often humorous.
Her close-knit family, friends and her strong Christian faith have been Mrs Smith's mainstays over the past century, her family said.
