Jemima King celebrated her 106th birthday yesterday. Photo / George Novak
A smile splashes across Jemima King's soft face as friends and family sing the Happy Birthday jingle to her, accompanied by Scottish bagpipes.
The Tauranga resident, who celebrated her 106th birthday yesterday, is more than familiar with the tune.
The bagpipes are a nod to her Scottish roots, as is the Glengarry highland cap she wore for the special day.
She was born in the Shetland Islands north-east of Scotland and moved to New Zealand when she was 16.
Jemima trained as a hairdresser in her late teens and early 20s and had a hairdressing business in Wellington.
She moved to Tauranga in the 1980s to retire.
Jemima has now far outlived many of her family and friends.
Bayview Village, where she lives, put together a beautiful day for her, with two young highland dancing girls performing as well as the bagpiper.
Jemima was treated to a large white and pink cake, surrounded by colourful balloons and residents all topped with spotty party hats.
She appreciates the simple details: the right amount of sugar in her cup of tea and being able to walk, with help from her walker, whenever she pleases.
A glamorous lady, dressed in a fluffy beige coat and a long skirt, she is far from camera-shy.
Her niece, Norma Grice, says Jemima has always had a gift for the arts and is a trained violinist and artist.
The Hairini resident, who dressed in a gorgeous green-tartan sash for the occasion, said she and her aunt have had a long, close relationship and see each other when they can.
Jemima is well-known in the rest home and is the oldest person there by six years.
Carol Wert, a worker at the Bayview Resthome, put the birthday bash together and said it is really a remarkable milestone that they wanted to celebrate for her.
It is not known where Jemima sits on the list of New Zealand's oldest people. A Department of Internal Affairs spokesperson said it was difficult to track, especially as she was born overseas.
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