Still smiling after all these years

Meet Una Cafra, the cheeriest 100yearold in Pakenham and, quite possibly, all of Australia. The longtime Pakenham resident turns 100 this week and will celebrate her centenary of years with a small homestyle celebration.
However small, the birthday bash will be ever significant as Una reflects on a lifetime of memories.
The Englishborn centenarian was only eight years old when World War I broke out in 1914.
But Una has more vivid memories of 1941, and age 35, when World War II engulfed the globe.
Add a dozen or so ravaging bushfires and devastating floods, and Una has literally seen it all.
With the philosophy ‘hard work never kills you’, Una has never had it easy and was thrown into the deep end of life from a very young age.
Her natural mother died when she was just two years old and Una lost her foster mum 14 years later.
Aged 16, and after a tough childhood, it was time for a change and Australia beckoned as the land of opportunity.
Una arrived in Australia on 10 November 1924 after a gruelling trip during which one of the ship’s passengers died.
Once here she spent her days working long hours and falling in love with her late husband, Vince.
“I ended up working at a pastry shop in Frankston for about £1 a week. The hours were long but times were tough, the Great Depression had really taken hold,” Una said.
Vince, originally from the Italian island of Sicily, worked at a Frankston hotel and regularly visited a snooker hall next door to Una’s work.
“One night he politely asked if he could walk me home.
“I accepted and our relationship went from there. We started as friends then fell in love,” Una said.
The pair was inseparable and married in December 1931.
The couple came to the Pakenham region in the midst of the Depression, to avoid the economic downturn that had gripped Melbourne.
Una has remained in the area ever since.
She spent most of her working life on farms, first milking cows then as a housewife on a sprawling 70acre Rice Road property in Kooweerup where the family farmed onions.
Daughter Edith, 72, was born in Bunyip in 1933 and can remember living on the farm with her mum and dad and brothers Victor and Bill.
“It was plenty of work, hard work, to maintain a property of that size. Mum and dad did very well,” Edith said.
Una and Edith now live together in Main Street which was purchased as a vacant block in 1980 after Vince died.
Two years before he died, Vince was knighted by the Italian Government for bravery during World War I.
Edith said that after her dad died, and with no driver’s licence, herself and Una were virtual prisoners at the Kooweerup farm.
“We couldn’t really go anywhere, we couldn’t walk anywhere, we were prisoners on the farm,” Edith said.
“There were appointments we had to keep and eventually we had to move into the town.
“Mum can always remember exact dates, it was 18 August 1980 when we came here, so it’s been 26 years since we moved into Pakenham,” Edith said.
Not much remains the same.
“When we first moved in, it was easy to know everyone in the town, I knew the local policemen and everyone’s names.
“Now it is all hustle and bustle, it’s certainly a lot busier.
“Both mum and myself aren’t allowed to even cross the road, according to our doctors” Edith laughed.
Amazingly, the Kooweerup farm Una and Edith left behind is still in operation and has remained in the family name.
“Victor and Bill took it over when dad died and mum and myself moved to Pakenham.
“It’s an asparagus farm now and the produce is very high quality,” Edith said.
According to Victor, it’s the best in the world.
“Pakenham asparagus is the best there is.
“We used to export 90 per cent of our produce to Japan but now it all goes to local outlets,” Victor said.
Una, whose birth date is 30 November 1906, is battling some health concerns but is already looking forward to her next birthday, according to Edith.
“Mum is very hard on hearing and had a turn earlier this year, so her legs aren’t as nimble as they used to be,” Edith said.
“But she still gets around using her walking aid.”
Edith is also still smiling, despite suffering from severe diabetes.
“We’re both still here and enjoying each other’s company.
“I lost sight in one of my eyes after having trouble with diabetes but we both keep on keeping on,” Edith said.
On Thursday, Edith and Una will celebrate the big 100 with a small gathering at their house.
“It won’t be anything too fancy or elaborate, a couple of ladies will visit but we’ll definitely mark the occasion. It’s a special day,” Edith said.
Una has already received a number of special letters, including one from Prime Minister John Howard, Governor General Michael Jeffery and her favourite, from Queen Elizabeth II.
“It’s great receiving all these letters. They’re making quite a fuss,” she said.
Despite living for 100 years, Una still has an unanswered question.
“Who will send the Queen a letter when she turns 100 herself?” she asked, with a seemingly serious intent on having it answered.
“Maybe (Prince) Charles will.”
What about Una’s secret to longlife?
“You’ve got to take the good with the bad,” she said.
Surely, that can’t be all?
“Oh and no smoking or drinking either.
“Keep smiling and stay cheerful, they are all important things,” Una said.
Even after 100 years, smiling and laughing are two things that Una does best.