Edna Harling — bowls legend, Sports Hall of Fame icon, double-pandemic survivor and Greater Shepparton's oldest resident — walks easily into the morning sunshine.
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She sits on a bench, and giggles when she is reminded she will be 107 years old on Thursday, October 28.
"I never really think about it. I enjoy every day,“ she says.
What’s it like being 107 years old?
“Well, I never think I won't be here," she says, with another giggle.
It's difficult for anyone alive today to imagine what life was like for Edna as a child.
Cars, telephones and aeroplanes were a rarity. There were no radios and it would be another 40 years before televisions became household items. Country roads were no more than dirt tracks and horses were the primary means of transport.
The first Coles Variety Store had just opened in Melbourne.
Not that Edna was bothered about anything like that.
"We didn't have anything, we just lived on the farm and lived a very simple life," she says.
Edna was born two months after the start of World War I in 1914.
Her earliest memories are from the end of the war four years later, when her uncles returned to the family farm at Kerang to be greeted by her parents.
Shortly afterwards, Spanish flu swept the world, killing millions. It even arrived in Kerang, where the local hospital filled quickly with flu patients.
Edna’s story in a book
The Australian Childhood Foundation has published Edna’s story about surviving the Spanish flu in a picture book as a positive way to help today’s children overcome fears about COVID-19.
When Edna and her sister Maggie caught the virus in 1918 there was no room for them inside the wards. So the two sisters were placed in a tent outside.
"The ground around the hospital was full of little tents," she says.
But as Edna approaches her 107th birthday she doesn't dwell on those grim and distant events.
As she sits in the sunshine outside Banksia Lodge at Kialla Gardens, a smile is never far from her lively face.
"Anyway, it was a good time after that," she says.
She went on to marry Christopher, a school teacher, at Kerang Baptist Church in 1942, as World War II was raging.
Edna remembers Christopher's return from the war after four long years of separation as one of the happiest times of her life.
Edna and Christopher had two children, Jenny and Chris. Now it's the family milestones that Edna treasures.
"It's always been good. Our children got married in their turn, and there's always things like that popping up," she says.
Edna enjoyed an active life playing tennis and netball, but when she was in her 30s and living in Mildura she discovered bowls, which quickly became a passion. After just five years of competitive bowling, she was selected to represent Victoria. Her bowls career lasted an impressive 60 years. Her final bowls achievement was winning the state pennant at 94 years old. These days, Goulburn Valley women’s bowlers play for the Edna Harling Shield.
It's no surprise that her daily life at Banksia Lodge is an active one.
"I just accept whatever is on — and I get busy filling my day in," she says.
This might involve bingo, trivia and card games, especially 500, and the occasional pokies trip.
"I have a friend who picks me up and we play the pokies at the Peppermill. Every Saturday when I can. We have reasonably good wins," she says, her trademark giggle making another appearance.
"I used to read. I loved reading — but now my eyes have gone," she says.
She hasn't been particularly bothered by pandemic restrictions, although her pokies trips have had to be suspended.
"It doesn't worry me. I know what the rules are and I fill my day in accordingly," she says.
Now that things have eased up, Edna is looking forward to seeing her son and daughter and her seven grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren for her birthday.
"We always used to go around the wineries — but it's different now, so my daughter is planning a party in Mooroopna," she says.
Meanwhile, life goes on — playing cards and pokies, being curious, having a laugh and having chats — plenty of chats.
"I like meeting people, up the passageways,“ she says.
"Everyone is so interesting, and we're all so different, we all have different ways — just working them out keeps me interested.“
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