Many happy returns for Northland's oldest resident

Bill Tuckey, who turned 105 on Tuesday, with great-granddaughter Lily (Bluff, left), grandson Neal (Bluff), son Bruce (Kaeo), great-grandson Anthony (Ohaeawai), and great-great-granddaughter Ruby (Ohaeawai). Photo / Supplied

Northland's oldest resident has celebrated his 105th birthday with a get-together for friends, townsfolk and five generations of his family.

Bill Tuckey reached the milestone on Tuesday, but the official celebration took place at the Rawene Town Hall on Saturday afternoon.

Eldest son Bruce Tuckey (Kaeo) said about 100 people from as far away as Bluff attended the afternoon tea, with Bill's grandson Neal Tuckey acting as MC.

"He's fit as a fiddle. He's looking a lot better than he has for ages," he said. It was also an opportunity to thank the people of Rawene for looking after him so well.

Bill had more visitors on Tuesday, but planned to take it easy and "straighten things out" after a busy few days.

"There were five generations of us there (at the celebration). That's a lot of people," he said. The former dairy factory inspector lives in his own home in Rawene and is still a keen gardener. He is known for dahlias and tomatoes, but this year diversified into kumara.

He suspected his gardening days were drawing to a close, however.

"I'm getting old, and my eyesight is slipping. But you can expect that. They must be worn out," he said.

His family moved to Rawene in 1928, and apart from a break in 1937-50, the South Hokianga town has been home ever since. He has his lunch delivered and regular visits from staff at nearby Hokianga Hospital, but otherwise lives independently.

He almost certainly holds the record for the longest subscription to the Northern Advocate, but gave up his driver's licence at 99. He has no particular secret to longevity, but his father never smoked or drank, always worked in the garden, cooked for himself every day and ate plenty of vegetables.

Bill was born in Thames on April 4, 1912, and was a toddler when his father was sent to World War I. After the war his parents took over the Masonic Hotel in Tauranga, but his father, who never recovered from being gassed in the trenches, died a few years later.

His mother remarried, and the family ended up running the Masonic Hotel in Rawene. He married Nora Cochrane in 1934 and they had six children.

Bill worked in dairy factories around Northland - at Motukaraka, Kaeo, Te Hana and Maungatapere - until his mother-in-law's death in 1950 brought the family back to Rawene and the Parnell Street home where he has lived ever since.

He was offered a job as a dairy farm inspector, and spent the next nine years travelling around the Hokianga. Later he worked as a storeman for the Hokianga County Council, and finally for Rawene's general stores, driving to the railhead at Kaikohe to collect goods and deliver them around the South Hokianga.

He was a close friend of Hokianga ferry captain Bob Edwards, who later moved to Ngataki and had the distinction of being Northland's oldest man, and New Zealand's oldest driver, for many years. Bob died last year aged 109.