Now 100 years old, Joan said she "just lived [her] life the best way [she] could".

Together with her husband Ted Murphy, her family and her friends from IRT Greenwell Gardens aged care, Joan celebrated the monumental milestone of turning 100 at the aged care home on Monday, May 17.

"I'm amazed that his celebration could happen," she said.

"I had no idea that being 100 would mean anything to anyone except me."

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Just over 100 years prior, Joan's parents had emigrated from the Isle of Man where her father's family owned a timber business.

Her parents, who married at the end of the First World War, were close to moving to Canada but decided to move to a place with warmer weather.

They settled on Australia as her father's brother had been living in Queensland at the time. The pair ended up settling in Five Dock in Sydney which is where Joan was born. Her father would go on to own a shop in St Leonard's and later Collaroy.

After World War 2 broke out, her father had to venture to find work as there were no supplies coming in.

All this time, Joan was attending Fort Street High where she obtained a second scholarship and entered university.

She was living in Clovelly when the Japanese shelled Sydney Harbour, with some of the shells going over her house.

When Australia joined the war, a lot of lecturers were called up to armed forces, including all the male students. Joan was on course to graduate from university with a distinction, but her degree was cancelled due to there being limited educators.

All the while she was studying music and playing in eisteddfods.

Around 1952, Joan joined the News South Wales Department of Education and achieved her diploma of education. She taught at Parramatta, Maryland and Cabramatta high schools as well as three others she couldn't quite remember.

Whilst at Parramatta and Maryland, Joan put together stage shows and musicals for her students.

When Joan left Parramatta high, one student thought Joan was so adept at putting on a show that she decided to follow her to Maryland so she could be a part of Joan's new production.

During the school holidays, Joan would tour around Australia, camping throughout the country.

She met her second husband on one of these trips, who had just lost his wife to cancer.

They married in 1979, bought a cottage in Orient Point the next year and Joan retired 12 months after that.

Joan embedded herself in the local community, joining various community groups including the Shoalhaven Bridge Club, the Country Women's Association and Weight Watchers.

In her retirement, Joan played the organ for the Anglican Church at Culburra, Callala, and All Saints in Nowra and played the double bass in the Nowra Orchestra.

She joined the Probus organisation in Culburra and went on tours with her husband.

A lover of bridge, Joan would run classes from home and compete around the state and in Canberra.

Joan met her current husband Ted at IRT Greenwell Gardens and bonded with him over their loss of their previous partners who died around the same time.

Edward Murphy, who goes by Ted was an electrician system operator for the state electricity commission and enjoys semi classical music and watching news and current affairs programs on TV.

At the time of Joan's 100th birthday, she had lived through 1200 months, 36,500 days, 876 hours, over 52 million minutes and over 3 billion seconds.