If you would like to know the secret to living to 100-years-old, ask Joseph “Joe” Cramp.
The father-of-five and resident of Logan Village recently celebrated his 100th birthday, and believed the reason behind his good health and charming smile followed a long life of responsible behaviour.
“I don’t gamble, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I don’t go out with fast women or even back slow race horses,” he laughed.
“Stress is one of the worst things any person can have, and it’s the one thing I have never let get to me.
“If anything is stressful, I’ll just take a nap and feel better.”
Mr Cramp and his wife, Eileen Cramp, moved to Logan Village in 2006 to be close their daughter, Julie Holston.
The pair married in March 1946 and celebrated their 70th anniversary earlier this year.
“I spent most of my life living in Lismore,” he said.
“I came from a large family and was one of seven siblings, with my parents helping to rear another three cousins as well, and it’s where I met my wife too.
“She lived five miles down the road and was a great friend of my sisters; but I didn’t get the chance to meet her until after I came back from the war.”
Mr Cramp, who was a Driver in World War II, joined the army in 1940 – after having a range of jobs including working on a dairy farm, owning a banana plantation and making a living as an electrician.
“I always wanted to be an engine driver but never got around to doing it,” the centenarian said.
“I also used to cut railway sleepers and was a truck driver for quite some time, but it wasn’t until I returned from the Tobruk, during the second world war, when my sisters actually wanted to introduce me to my wife.
“We married in March, 1946.”
Mr Cramp said watching society evolve was the most interesting thing to see during his 100 years.
“We’ve gone from running standard horse and carts to having blooming aeroplanes in the sky, running around with a couple hundred people on board and another two or three tonne of freight each side,” he said.
“We also now have colour televisions. It’s marvelous.”
Mr Cramp recently celebrated his 100th birthday in Lismore, surrounded by more than 90 of his closest friends and family.
He has since celebrated a second 100th birthday at home, in Logan Village.
The centenarian also confirmed he received a letter of congratulations from the Queen and the Governor-General of Australia.