At Iona Home in Oamaru yesterday, Mrs Omnet (nee Smyth) celebrated her 100th birthday, surrounded by family.
She was born in Oamaru, the oldest of five sisters. Her parents, Charles and Rose Smyth, were pillars of the community, running a bakery in Morven after World War 1.
Mr Smyth died of cancer at 44, in 1927, leaving Mrs Smyth with five children aged between 5 and 12.
She died the following year.
Orphaned at 13, Mrs Omnet and her sisters lived with their grandfather for a short time, before being split up to be cared for within the family.
Mrs Omnet attended Waitaki Girls' junior high school, then the senior school, but left at 16 to work as a dressmaker, until she married George Omnet, an automotive electrician, when she was 20.
She made her own wedding dress which, until recently, was hanging in her room at Iona rest-home.
She attended the Oamaru Baptist Church, where she later ran a Sunday School class.
''Of course, that's where I found the chap I married,'' she said.
''He was a hang of a fine-looking bloke.''
Mr and Mrs Omnet had five children, Valery, Bruce, Beverly, Rodney and Geoffrey, and lived on a five-acre block in Weston Rd, where they kept sheep, pigs and chickens and were keen gardeners.
Mrs Omnet enjoyed being part of the local Women's Institute, and was once president of the group.
She has lived in Oamaru all her life, but has spent time travelling around the world.
Her husband, George, died aged 74.
Mrs Omnet said she realised she was getting old when the first of her children qualified for the pension.
She was not sure what the key to her long life was, but she had always been active.
At 90 she was still walking to the post office and gardening.
She was looking forward to seeing family members who had travelled from as far as the UK and Australia for the birthday celebrations.
She was also ''very excited'' to receive letters from the Queen, the Prime Minister and the Governor-General earlier in the week, but, despite her best efforts, she was not allowed to open them until yesterday.
