105-year-old says secret to longevity is loved ones and family

She received a letter from the late Queen Elizabeth II on her 100th birthday five years ago, and only last week a card from King Charles III.

Mrs Russell was born on March 31, 1918, on Belmore Street in West Tamworth, and has outlived every one of her 16 siblings.

She has nine children, 21 grandchildren and 30 great-grand children with two unborn on the way, and says the secret to her longevity has been her family.

"I have good kids, and have had marvellous people around me," Mrs Russell said

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Mrs Russell worked as a nurse before she married in 1949 to the love of her life Ray Russell, and has since dedicated her life to caring for those around her.

Sadly, Mr Russell passed away in 2000 at the age of 84.

A small group of her family members gathered in the carport at their Hillvue home on Thursday, where she has lived since it was built in 1959.

Her niece Janice Roser arrived bearing a gift of photo frames, saying her aunt is a very generous, beautiful lady.

"Love keeps her alive," Ms Roser said.

Mrs Russell's daughter and main carer Mareea Scott agreed, saying her mother is a naturally happy person.

"She's still pretty sharp, the only thing that's letting mum down at the moment is her frailty," Ms Scott said.

"But she can do most things herself, we cook for her but she gets up and down the back steps on her own okay."

Mrs Russell was born in the year of the 1918 pandemic-declared Spanish Flu, and lived through the disease which killed about 15,000 people in Australia and left millions gravely ill.

She's seen the nation's population jump from 4.5 million about 100 years ago, to about 26 million people in 2023.

And she was around when the average weekly wage was just $6, with petrol costing six cents per litre and bread just three cents for a loaf.

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