Mrs Johnson has celebrated her milestone 100^th birthday, but said everyday is special with husband, Harry, by her side. 

“We’ve had a wonderful life together, it’s lovely,” she said.

The pair has been married 73 years and first met waltzing and barn dancing in Wagga. 

“I was back from the Middle East, I came home on leave and went to a country dance at the Coconut Grove,” he said.

“We mucked around all week together and when I came home a second time I asked her to marry me – what a fool she was.

“Oh, Nell and I, we used to love to dance together.”

The couple might not be able to waltz anymore, but Harry (Henry James), 94, still serenades Nell with music from Bing Crosby and the classic ‘When you’re smiling’.

Mr Johnson said the couple’s successful marriage comes down to the fact they’re well suited. 

“I think it’s being compatible, it’s marvellous to be able to live with someone through ups and downs,” he said. 

“We seem to get along and we’re compatible –  that’s the main thing, I think, in a marriage or a friendship.

“It’s marvellous to get along together still today.” 

Mrs Johnson, nee Woodward, was born on September 18, 1917, and grew up in Alfredtown on a dairy farm outside Wagga. 

She lived through the tail end of WWI and the entirety of WWII.

She said she wasn’t going to do anything huge to mark her 100^th birthday.

“It’s going to come and go like the other 99,” Mr Johnson said.

Mrs Johnson said the secret to a long life was keeping fit and well. 

After their wedding the pair lived in Wagga, Mr Johnson working in a shoe store. The pair then moved to Wangaratta before living in Wodonga, where Mr Johnson worked on both sides of the Border.

Currently the pair both live in Westmont Homestead, Baranduda, where they will celebrate Mrs Johnson’s birthday.