For Molly Taylor it was just another day, but for the family and friends who gathered to mark a century of life for the kind and caring woman it was a special day indeed.
Looking around at the room filled with about 50 family and friends, balloons and other accoutrements at Plato Cafe yesterday, Ms Taylor asked: "Is that for me?''
"It's too much. I can't accept it.''
But after the role she had played in so many people's lives over 100 years, it was just a small gesture of her importance, her son John Hinton said.
Family and friends came from as far afield as Australia and the North Island to celebrate her birthday.
But Ms Taylor could not understand all the fuss.
"It's just a birthday,'' she said of the milestone.
Born in Invercargill, Ms Taylor soon relocated to Dunedin as a young child and had spent the rest of her life in the city.
She played a big role in raising her siblings after her mother was widowed with five young children during the Depression years.
"She has always been a devoted family person and had a lot to do with the upbringing of many of her nieces and nephews,'' Mr Hinton said.
"These family members make up the bulk of the people coming from Australia and this shows the high regard she is held in by these relations.''
Ms Taylor always enjoyed keeping active, playing bowls and riding her bike around town.
And her secret for longevity?
"Good food,'' she said.
"And family and friends.''
