The Great NZ Roadtrip: The 100-year-old early adopter and his subtle warning about AI

Tech-savvy Hastings centenarian Bill Greaves turned 100 on Sunday. Photo / Chris Hyde

The doctor spun around in his chair and told Bill Greaves he was one of the rare ones.

“Bill, quite a few people get to be 100 years old, but very few get there with their brain intact,” he said to his patient just the other day.

Bill is indeed one of the rare ones, and is definitely worth a chat as a result.

He’s an early-adopting senior citizen – a smartphone user who dabbles with AI.

From the computer set-up in his resthome room at Eversley in suburban Hastings, he uses Photoshop and other complex software tools to bring the best out of them.

Bill drives. He plays table tennis. He listens to classical music and current affairs. He was probably one of the first in the country to have a crack at internet dating.

Over an email thread with me, he agreed to be interviewed for this piece for The Great NZ Roadtrip.

He didn’t want it to be a big deal, of course.

But perhaps, given he still had his marbles, there was a nugget of advice he could pass on to the generations below him.

Bill turned 100 on Sunday. The wishes have come from all over.

Seven officials - from the King, Queen, Prime Minister, Governor General and the mayor have written to him to acknowledge the milestone.

To get to this level of celebration hasn’t always been smooth sailing – life invariably isn’t.

He grew up the son of poor parents grinding out a living on a challenging piece of farmland 25 kilometres from Ohakune.

Bill Greaves as a high school prefect in Whanganui.

After getting through the Great Depression, and seeing out his schooling he refused to return to the farm, seeing it as a millstone.

After WWII - where he saw active service on loan to the British Navy - Bill came home and married wife Deirdre in Takapuna.

The two of them raised three children.

Bill Greaves didn't want to be a farmer, and ended up working in numerous other roles over his working life.

Bill, who has lived his entire life with a liberal worldview, worked numerous jobs over the years – from radio servicing to salesman, technician, teacher and in child protection services. Towards the end of his work life, he turned to designing and building houses.

It’s a life that’s taken him all around the country, with numerous moves.

He’s enjoyed it, but says sometimes he had just picked a “steady” path.

Deirdre died of motor neurone disease in the 1980s.

Bill turned to an early form of internet dating to find company, and chanced upon Louise from Napier.

Together they chatted without meeting for six months, falling in love with each other.

Bill moved to Hawke’s Bay to be with her and spent 11 years by her side, before she died five years ago.

In the 16 years he’s lived in the region, he reckons he’s scoured just about “every inch” of the region, looking for places to take photos.

His camera is the inspiration of a friend. A day a week, every week for 10 years, they’ve headed out on “expeditions” - gradually upgrading equipment and learning new techniques and software programs.

The photos on Bill’s hard drive of the roses of Frimley Park in full bloom are a testament to his skill.

Bill Greaves in his room in Eversley, Hastings. Photo / Chris Hyde

Bill watches the young people who come into his room and the technology they use.

He’s noticed the rise of the likes of Siri and Gemini (an AI smartphone assistant) and worries about what it means for the young. Google was bad enough.

He argues there’s been a loss of interpersonal skills, in particular people’s ability to talk through the facts of an issue with their surrounding community.

“There’s been a real loss of the interpersonal.

“People can now accumulate a lot of knowledge, and they know they have it at their fingertips.

“They think they know everything, but without talking it through with someone, they haven’t got wisdom.”

Bill says he’d be happy to die tomorrow, and he’s ready to go when the time comes, but he still enjoys life.

He’ll take a trip to the supermarket (where I see him pushing his trolley a day after our chat) and he’ll head to table tennis for a workout, and he’ll communicate with his friends and family regularly.

His days are full and fulfilling.

Bill knows instinctively that every 100-year-old gets asked the secret to their long life. In fact, he’s had plenty of chances in the past few weeks to consider his answer.

He gives a cheeky grin and says he’ll tell me exactly what he told them – nothing.

“It’s a secret.”

Chris Hyde is the editor of Hawke’s Bay Today. He has 10 years’ experience in regional newsrooms and led the team through Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023. The paper won the Voyager Regional Newspaper of the Year in 2024 and 2025.