On The Up: Centenarian Shirley Smith reflects on a century of life and world events

NZ Herald

23-05-2025

She spoke to the Bay of Plenty Times ahead of her birthday, sharing the most important piece of advice for life she had learned in her years:
'Meet the day as best as you can.'
Smith was born on May 23, 1925, in Lower Hutt.
She lived in Napier during the 1930s and sailed to England in 1948, spending six long weeks aboard the steamship Mataroa.
She returned to Lower Hutt 18 months later and has lived in Tauranga with her family for nearly 60 years.
'I enjoy reminiscing about the past,' she said.
Her first job was as an office clerk at Colonial Mutual Life Insurance Company. She also did office work at Railways Road Services in Wellington before heading to the UK.
'I used to clip the tickets for road services and rail services,' she said.
'I worked at Paddington Station, and the hygiene – there wasn't any, it was terrible."
She wanted to be a pharmacist, but female pharmacists were unheard of at the time.
She began nursing training in maternity and public health at Wellington Hospital at the age of 28.
'I did that for a few years, and I visited people, because they had no Plunket, of course.
'So I had to go around and weigh babies to make sure they were all right.'
Asked for the most memorable world events of her lifetime, she quipped: 'I've just got to oil my brains.
'I remember when the first female pilot arrived in New Zealand,' she said, referring to Rotorua-born Jean Batten, who set several aviation records, including the first solo flight from England to New Zealand.
She recalled Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953 and the death of Princess Diana in 1997.
'I was very interested in the royal family.'
She also recalled the Challenger space shuttle explosion of 1986, which killed its seven crew members, including teacher Christa McAuliffe.
'I remember that, it blew up in the sky, and there was a woman in the shuttle.'
Smith had five children, including a set of twins; 14 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.
She married Robert Smith in 1960, the father of her children. He died in 1980.
Her youngest daughter, Brenda-Joy Newman, shared some of the many hobbies her mother had throughout her 100 years.
'Mum used to play tennis, she used to do lots of knitting, she was a singer and would be involved with theatre.
Newman said her mother 'loved to entertain with her lovely voice'.
'She's been on the stage singing and was involved in her later life with the Skittle band.'
'They used to go around lots of places and perform, and even performed at the jazz festival one year.'