Opening letters from the Queen, the Prime Minister and other dignitaries with a great sense of joy, for Norma Lockery nothing could compare to being surrounded by family for her 100th birthday.
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Mrs Lockery ticked over the century mark on Friday, with the festivities taking part on Saturday at Grace Munro Aged Care Centre.
Exactly 45 family members came from across the state and even beyond to celebrate the special milestone with their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
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"She was thrilled - absolutely thrilled," daughter-in-law Doreen said.
"The amount of cards and flowers she got - we've more flowers than a florist!"
Mrs Lockery's son Rob said it was "fantastic", with people coming from Brisbane, Canberra and "all places in between".
But while spending the day in Bundarra, Mrs Lockery is a well-known, iconic Inverell personality.
She came to Inverell when she was about five years old for school, moving from Copes Creek where her family mined, to live with her two uncles on High Street.
"Her philosophy in life is 'hard work will never kill you' and it was work that kept her going," Doreen said.
Her introduction to working for a living came when she started her schooling, cleaning the school and other offices before and after classes in the morning and evening.
She then worked as a 'tayloress' at Bob Munroy in Otho Street, and met her husband Roy when he worked in a men's wear store just down the street.
They took over a bakery, near the Tingha Bridge, from Roy's father and ran it for 20 years before they sold it in 1965 and moved to Brisbane.
Still coming to visit, they saw the sale of the Albion Store in the paper "by accident" and thought, why not.
They, with Doreen and their only son Robert, made the place into how most people think of it now, owning and running it from 1972 until 1990.
"Growing up, she became very particular about the fact that 'cleanliness was next to Godliness', and was always particular about her appearance," Doreen explained.
"Her hair is always immaculate, and she takes a lot of pride in how she looks
"At the store she welcomed everyone the same way, it didn't matter who they were, looked on everyone the same whether they were rich or poor - she knew what it was like to be poor."
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