Nita, who is known for her “character” and having her “own little things”, is often seen showing everyone how she can still bend over and touch her toes. A skill that has been made much more impressive by her recent milestone birthday.

Moving into The Mariner on February 5, 2010, Ms Clarke was one of the very first residents to call the South West Rocks facility home. After 13 years of living at Calvary The Mariner, Nita now also holds the record for the longest tenure of the home and of course, she is very proud of it.

When asked to name a few of her favourite things in life, the colour yellow, the sunny spot by the window, and barbeque sauce were amongst her answers. A lady who enjoys her routine, Nita ensures she enjoys her favourite things every day. So yes, she does sit by the same sunny spot, wearing her favourite colour and making sure the barbeque sauce is on standby at meal times.

While it took Nita a while to realise that she was turning 100, she was still able to enjoy the celebrations with her friends and family on a very special day.

She was joined by her siblings, nephews, in-laws, and her former next-door-neighbours who swapped stories from when they learnt to ride bikes, went swimming in the local river or simply just spent time at Nita’s home.

Born on September 20, 1923 in Kendall as Nita Busch, she grew up on Shark Island and Rainbow Beach. She worked as a cleaner, cleaning Kempsey Court House, a boarding house for a local family.