By Olivia Condous
Bacchus Marsh resident Doreen Burns has reached a momentous milestone, as she celebrated her 100th birthday on August 7.
The centenarian has lived a widely varied life and is a mother of two, a grandmother to four and a great-grandmother of six.
Ms Burns has lived in Bacchus Marsh for the last 16 years, but has lived in many different places across the country and worked a variety of jobs.
She was born on a farm in Deloraine Tasmania, where she met her husband Roy Burns, who she moved with to New South Wales.
Ms Burns worked on a sheep station in Tocumwal and then worked as a station cook at Juanbung Station in Oxley, before settling in Deniliquin and working at Kondos Cafe.
She then moved with her family to Altona North in 1959, where she worked as a laboratory assistant and physiotherapist receptionist, and was sadly widowed in 1973.
She said her advice for living a long life was no secret, simply exercise and “be happy”.
“The biggest life lesson is that happiness comes from the most important people in your life, relations and friends,” Ms Burns said.
She celebrated her 100th birthday with a special dinner, surrounded by thirty of her much-loved family members, and enjoyed an Irish whiskey or two.
