Rotorua's Ella Wilson celebrates her 108th birthday with high tea, family lunch

A Rotorua woman described as the "queen" of her family considers herself lucky to be celebrating 108 years of life.

Ella Wilson has lived through pandemics, war and has outlived two of her children - but says she is "blessed in more ways than one".

The resident of Bupa's The Gardens Care Home was born on June 28 in 1914.

"I am lucky enough to feel very comfortable. It's a blessing," she told the Rotorua Daily Post at a high tea held in her honour at the home yesterday .

Residents enjoyed live music while drinking tea and eating cake from fine china.

It followed an early birthday lunch at Urbano Bistro on Saturday with about 30 family and friends who travelled from Auckland, Tauranga and Wellington.

Wilson said the lunch was "just wonderful".

Family and friends travelled from across the country to celebrate with Ella Wilson. Photo / Andrew Warner

"I cannot describe that. They were just lovely, everything there was lovely. And everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves," she said.

And she said the secret to living a long life was "to appreciate every day as it comes".

"Today everything is so fast or quick - they don't have time to stop and think. And every job they do is automatic. We did everything manually, and if we couldn't do it - our neighbour would help us. I think that was the secret - and you have no idea how happy we were," she said.

Wilson lost her mother to the Spanish flu epidemic at the age of four and was then separated from her father and four brothers.

"I was born in a very hard time, but we were happy. We had very little money, but we were very happy. We appreciated every little thing we got."

In December she told the Rotorua Daily Post she still remembered a truck filled with bodies coming to pick up her mother after she had passed.

"Dad went off to work and when he came home his wife had gone."

She was then briefly taken to a care home with one of her brothers before being sent to live with relatives.

Despite the struggles she remembers most of her childhood fondly – having "free fun" racing hand-built cars, playing sport and digging caves.

At 21 she married John Wilson and the couple went on to have three children.

John, who died at age 72, was absent for long periods as he went to war. Wilson stayed at their Cambridge home and cared for the children.

She moved to Rotorua about 10 years ago.

Ella Wilson celebrated her 108th birthday on Tuesday. Photo / Andrew Warner

Wilson's youngest son, 71-year-old John, said his mum's birthday weekend was "full of love and happiness".

"I have seldom seen her so happy," he said.

He said she was still "as sharp as a knife", had a "wicked sense of humour" and was not afraid to give him a telling-off.

"She is a mother still. Even though I am coming up to 72, she still waves her finger at me and tells me off, which is quite hilarious."

He said she had some problems seeing and hearing but was still "very happy" living her life and rarely complained about aches and pains.

He felt it was a "remarkable achievement" that his mum had reached the age of 108.

John, who lives in Auckland, said he tried to visit his mum in Rotorua every six to eight weeks.

"What we are trying to do as a family is make sure she knows she is still important. She is very much the queen of our family," he said.

Asked what values she instilled in him growing up, he said: "the importance of family and the importance of money".

"Because life was hard, mum has always been frugal. And it served her well."