A morning tea celebrating Sutherland Shire's centenarians brought together more than 2600 years of life experience on Monday.
The Centenarians Morning Tea was one of the showpiece events of Sutherland Shire Council's Seniors Festival, which ends today.
Usually held as a luncheon, it was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, the event was scaled back to a morning tea because of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and the refurbishment of the usual venue, Sutherland Entertainment Centre.
This year, 26 shire residents aged 100 and over attended the morning tea at Hazelhurst Arts Centre, Gymea.
For some, it was a chance to renew acquaintances after what had been a particularly challenging year for seniors, Sutherland Shire mayor Steve Simpson said.
Councillor Simpson said the event was an important way to recognise the contribution of our most senior residents throughout their lives.
"Our Centenarians Morning Tea provides a fantastic opportunity to celebrate a select group of seniors who have seen so much throughout their lives and given so much to our community," councillor Simpson said.
"Our local centenarians have lived through some of the most extraordinary times in history, so events like this provide a wonderful opportunity for them to catch up and share their recollections of a huge and important slice of our history."
Councillor Simpson said that with all our lives changing significantly over the past year, this year's event had particular significance.
"We wanted to meet with our centenarians, listen to their stories, hear their views, and learn from their experiences living in the Sutherland Shire," he said.
"It's important that we honour traditions like this in any way that we can, to ensure we are providing opportunities to enhance our caring and supportive community."
