Sussex Inlet treasure and man of adventure, Fred Power, turned 105 on Monday, February 15.
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"It's unbelievable really," said Mr Power.
"I've been spoilt rotten today."
Born in 1916 in Gunning, an historic town just north of Canberra, Mr Power grew up on a dairy farm.
He credits a wholesome farm lifestyle, with plenty of work outside and fresh, homegrown food, with giving him a good start in life.
He and one of his brothers also used to rise in long-distance bicycle races, which kept them both fit as fiddles.
When his two older brothers signed up for military service, Mr Power wasn't far behind them.
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He signed up in 1940, and by 1941 was on active duty in Malaya.
His battalion was part of the battle of Muar, one of two Australian battalions trapped at Parit Sulong bridge with an Indian regiment.
Of the 4000 men, only 900 survived.
After three months in hospital Mr Power was sent home, and a month after that his parents found out he was alive.
Shortly after that, he was deemed fit enough for service and packed off to New Guinea.
New Guinea was also where he met his future wife's brother, Herb.
Mr Power finished the war on an island off the coast of Borneo, engaged in a continuing stalemate with Japanese troops.
Returned soldiers received deferred pay - sixpence a day for time spent in Australia, a shilling a day while overseas - and he and Herb purchased a small shop.
It was while they were cleaning it up he met his future wife Moira.
"I remember she had her hair up in curlers, and she was wearing a greenish-looking dress," he said.
"We were carting out rubbish, so the first trip she had with me was in the panel van, carting rubbish to the tip - but she wouldn't get off.
"We just sort of clicked when we first met and that was it."
The pair wed in 1948.
Moira - always talented with a needle - made her own wedding dress.
The couple went on to have two sons, a grandson and a granddaughter.
Mr Power said they retired from having children after their two sons so there was never an odd one out.
Although Moira died in 2018, after a lifetime of adventures together, Fred continues to be an active member of the community and enjoyed his 105th birthday celebrations at Inasmuch.