Eunice was born the youngest of seven siblings on November 9, 1914, a few months into World War 1.

Tonight, a century later, she will celebrate her milestone with an adoring family that includes her son, Ian, three grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Not only has she lived through two World Wars, the Great Depression and more recent overseas conflicts, Eunice has also coped with personal crises such as the loss of her husband, Harold, when Ian was just seven and triumphed over cancer at age 90.

Eunice was the housekeeper who nursed Bathurst’s celebrated aristocratic pioneer descendant, Miss Ida Traill, towards the end of her life.

She spent many years living with Miss Traill in the home that has now been preserved by the National Trust and stands as an iconic link between modern Bathurst and a genteel past.

Eunice left school at age 13 and began work as a maid for the prominent and wealthy local Holmes family who lived in another iconic Bathurst property, Yarras.

She left the job when she married Harold but, on his death, Mrs Holmes contacted her and invited her to come back.

“She was a real lady,” says a still-appreciative Eunice, who worked for several prominent families, including Mrs Holmes’ daughter, Mrs Stack.

Eventually she ended up in the employ of Ida Traill, known reverently as Miss Traill, and was with her until her death in 1976.

“She was another real lady,” Eunice remembers. “She loved racehorses but didn’t bet on them . . . except perhaps the Melbourne Cup.”

Eunice, who lives alone in her Peel Street home, still cooks for herself and enjoys one or two outings a week. She loves a shopping trip and a cup of tea or coffee in a cafe but misses the old-fashioned service offered by stores such as Mocklers – an obvious favourite.

“You’d give your order while sitting on a chair and they’d deliver it home for nothing,” she says.

“Back then you could have your bread, meat and milk delivered – even the greengrocer would deliver for you. I do miss that old service.”

While Eunice has always lived in Bathurst, her life has been far from insular. She travelled to England with a friend and keeps up with current affairs, even noting the death recently of “young” Gough Whitlam, who was “only” 98 when he died.

Eunice has never held a driver’s licence and relies on her two feet and a healthy constitution for transportation. “I walked everywhere,” she said, including once completing a circuit of 11 Mile Drive with a friend.

She says constant exercise, hard work and an ethos focussed on helping others is her recipe to a long and happy life. Happy birthday Eunice.