Ethel Brownjohn has 100 reasons to smile after notching up a century on earth on Tuesday.
Born July 3, 1918, in Bootle, Liverpool, Ethel was the third of five children; two elder brothers and two younger sisters.
The family moved to Sydney when Ethel was still young, later making Brunswick home.
She met her late husband Noel on a staircase in a Chinese cafe on Little Collins Street and said it was love at first sight.
The Brownjohns had two kids, Douglas and Barbara, and the brood has grown to include three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Ethel worked as a tram conductress and also in administration at the Maribyrnong ammunitions factory.
Daughter-in-law Marlene said Ethel was very family-oriented and would come over every Sunday and spend time reading to her grandchildren while she prepared a roast lunch.
Ethel spent her adult years living across the inner north-west suburbs, living in Maribyrnong, Travencore and Seddon, before moving further out west to Hoppers Crossing more than 22 years ago.
She lived in her own home until two years ago, when she moved to Uniting AgeWell in Manor Lakes.
Wearing a mint-coloured cardigan she had knitted herself, her hair set and nails done, Ethel told Star Weekly that “looking after myself” was the key to reaching triple digits.
The keen sewer also loved camping, swimming, and playing golf and basketball.
The family celebrated at the weekend, with the Royal Flying Doctors Service flying over Ethel’s sister from her aged care home to spend some time with her while great-grandson Joshua, eight, read out a number of facts about what life was like on the day Ethel was born.
