It was a double-century party on Monday for special mates, Betty and Rose, who each mark 100th birthdays in the month of August.
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Rose Tutty and Betty Watt held one another's hands with a genuine affection at Molong's Prunus Lodge, with the aged service community celebrating their 100-years of each being in the world.
"This is my mate and we have a lot of laughs together here, don't we, Betty?," Mrs Tutty said, veering her gaze to Mrs Watt.
"We're not 'old', we're mature; like a good cheese and great wine."
Sharing a love of all music genres, dancing, craft-work and painting each day, Mrs Tutty and Mrs Watt lived separate lives before their friendship formed some 18 months ago.
Rose Tutty
Born on August 7 in 1923, Rose Tutty (nee Matherson) was based in outback Euabalong.
A tiny town not far from Cobar, she was the second youngest of eight siblings and enjoyed cooking with her mother.
Moving to Orange at the age of four, Mrs Tutty went to Rural School - now Orange Public School - which is where she'd eventually meet Lionel Tutty; the person who'd become her partner of 46 years.
"[My husband] passed from pancreatic cancer 37 years ago, but I just had to keep going after that," she said.
"What I've learned in this life is that family is very important, you be kind to people and you just do whatever you can to help anyone.
"And that you don't have to go to church to be good."
Leaving school at the age of 14 to support the family household with domestic duties, Mrs Tutty would go on to work at Byng Street's Woolen Mills.
She was employed there for two years during the second World War.
"Dad said I had to start working to help during the war or I'd get in trouble, he said 'choose there or the big munitions factory, or go to jail'," she said.
"We'd work two shifts, either 7am to 3pm or 3pm to 11pm, and it was hard work but I thought 'well gee, this seems better than jail'."
It was hard work but I thought 'well gee, this seems better than jail'.
- Rose Tutty giggles after telling the story of her dad's suggestion to work during the war.
Mrs Tutty is very close with her nephew, John, who lives in Orange and regularly visits 'Aunty Rosie' in Molong.
When describing her, he said she's "very smart, very switched on and sharp as a tack with a memory like a sponge".
Betty Watt
Born in Orange on August 22, 1923, Mrs Watt was doing her own bit for the war during the 1940s.
She lived in the region until age 13, went to boarding school until 16, and when she was 19 years old, Mrs Watt joined the army south-west of Wagga Wagga.
Stationed at Kapooka Army Base, Mrs Watt spent three years altering clothing for soldiers - and eventually reached the rank of corporal.
"It was very interesting and there were some very sad times there, especially when troops were leaving the camp and being shipped out in truckloads to go to the islands," she said.
"That was always very sad, because we never saw them again and some we never heard from again at all.
"It was totally different over there, but you met amazing people there, too. You really did."
That was always sad, because we never saw them again and some we never heard from again at all.
- Betty Watt shares about her time in Kapooka where she'd watch soldiers leave the army base for war.
Adjusting to life back in the Central West was "rather difficult" with the end-of-war era, which was a platform of scarce housing for many.
While that was "one of the worst features" post-war, Mrs Watt said she also got very lucky.
"I got a very, very good job in a big store called The Western Stores [Myers] and it's still standing today," Mrs Watt said.
"The shopping ladies would come in dressed in all of these fancy furs, my word, and the staff, we were dressed in all black clothing and wore very small black heels.
"But maybe they were worried we'd steal the spotlight," she said and giggled.
Later marrying Allan Watt, the couple moved to a farm in Cumnock in 1957 to run sheep and cattle, raising their two children in the midst - Andrew and Judith Watt.
Mr Watt died in 2015 and Mrs Watt remained at the property into her late nineties, prior to moving into Prunus Lodge.
It's wonderful, it's been a lovely life.
- Betty Watt on the world after 100 years of 'a lovely life' to date.
Staff in Molong say Mrs Watt "finds delight in everything", has a sense of humour well and truly in tact, and sees the world in all its beauty.
"It's wonderful, it's been a lovely life," Mrs Watt said.
"But you can't be serious all of the time, that's one of the secrets, and you have to be honest with people and think of others."
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