The high tea celebration was attended by family and friends of the special guests as well as various community leaders, dignitaries and members of parliament. Another two centenarians will be honoured at a second high tea at Bundaleer’s Johnstone Street facility tomorrow.

Hastings Co-op chief executive officer Allan Gordon said the co-operative was “honoured to share the special milestone with seven amazing Bundaleer residents, who have been part of our journey since the beginning”.

“Seven hundred years, or 8400 months, is the combined lifespan of this special group we are fortunate to share our 100th anniversary with,” he said.

Bundaleer Care Services’ chief executive officer Gareth Norman said he was proud to partner with the Hastings Co-op for this unique event.  

“Life at 100: it only gets better.  Bundaleer is committed to ‘adding life to later years’ and it has been a pleasure to share this celebration of our residents’ 100th year and the Co-op’s wonderful achievement.  

“Congratulations on reaching this century milestone,” he said.

Mr Gordon explained that Hastings Co-op will be hosting numerous community celebrations throughout the year, but the high teas  are about “honouring some of our community’s oldest residents”.

“To have seven centenarians living at Bundaleer at the same time is quite extraordinary,” he said.

“It’s amazing to think that when they were growing up, the only mode of transport was horse and cart.

“During the past 100 years, they’ve seen people fly not only across the country, but the world, they’ve lived through world wars and the Great Depression and witnessed amazing inventions like electricity, phones and computers that have shaped the way we live.

“From humble beginnings as a group of local dairy farmers in 1916, Hastings Co-op has also evolved into a diverse retailer with 13 businesses across the Hastings and is now one of the longest serving independent co-ops in Australia.”​