"But I'm not old yet," the 92-year-old says firmly.

Mrs Campbell reckons there are some good genes in her family. For example, her dad, mum and a couple of great aunts made it into their 80s and 90s, and her great-uncle Jim died at 109.

"Now, he was old," the long-time Wagga resident admits.

Mrs Campbell, who still has the delicate English rose complexion she inherited from her British-born mother, said she has always had good health.

One of seven children, she was brought up on "good homemade meals" and has never smoked or drunk much alcohol. She is also "not a mad keen tea drinker".

"When I first get up in the morning I'll have a drink of water," Mrs Campbell said.

The mother of four lives independently and still drives herself around the city. She still uses her exercise bike, but admits she doesn't walk as far as she used to.

Mrs Campbell firmly believes in keeping an active body and mind to help bolster good health.

A regular at Wagga's School for Seniors, where she is currently enjoying ballroom dancing, Mrs Campbell has in the past done public speaking and creative writing courses there.

She plays chess with her son every week and has been writing poetry since she was a child.

Mrs Campbell says she also loves to play words games in her head, often using people's names.

"For example, my name is five words: Win, if, red, camp, bell," she said.

Specialist geriatrician Paul Finucane said one of the most important things people can do to prepare for their old age is adopt a healthy lifestyle early on.

"There is no weekend at the [Wagga Base] hospital now when I'm on call that I don't have a handful of people over the age of 90 and, increasingly, we are seeing people over the age of 100," Professor Finucane said.

"Nowadays, I think what people need to do is plan that there is a very good chance they are going to live well into their 80s, into their 90s, probably even past 100, and to try to keep themselves in the best possible shape for when they do get old.

"I think for just about everybody, it's not getting old that they fear, it's getting sick.

"And, of course, you are more likely to get sick as you get older, but there's lots of things you can do to minimise the chances of getting sick when you're older.

"Clearly, avoid things like smoking and alcohol consumption and other things we all know about. Take exercise, stay active - playing tennis, playing golf - and stay mentally active as well. Doing things that keep you stimulated and active socially are all hugely, hugely important."

Professor Finucane said he and colleague Matthew Thompson had made some interesting observations about the way people in the region, and beyond, are ageing.

"One of the things I have noticed, as I did work in Europe for a number of years, and my colleague Matt Thompson, who has come from the UK, has too, is that older people in Australia and in Murrumbidgee are far healthier than in Europe," he said.

"Now, whether that's the environment - you know the fact you haven't got the winters that you have to contend with in Europe, you have sun and you don't have all the problems with vitamin deficiencies and the like - there are many, many more healthy older people in Australia than either of us have come across in our time working in Europe."

Professor Finucane said people should be looking forward to their older age.

"With any luck, we'll all survive to be old. I say with any luck because it's really the unlucky people who get sick and who die prematurely," he said.

"People should look forward to older age. We used to say people over the age of 65, but now we're now talking about the age of 80 as a time of enjoyment, of fulfilment and that they should look forward to that. It's when they've got time, perhaps, to indulgence in pastimes that they didn't have previously, they have not only children, but grandchildren and great grandchildren coming along.

"We have excellent role models of people who are ageing well. We can see those people and ask 'why are they ageing well?'. It's because they're looking after themselves."

The Murrumbidgee region has a higher proportion of elderly people than the national average and combating the challenges this creates is the role of health professionals like Proofessor Finucane.

"We're very much aware of the fact we have an ageing population and are starting to further develop the services to meet their needs," he said.

"We do have an elderly population in Murrumbidgee, not just in Wagga, and the data is that we are something like 14 years ahead of national figures. Where we were in 2017, in terms of the percentage of people over 65 and over 85, is where Australia is going to be in 2031."

According to the Bureau of Statistics, the proportion of Australians aged 65 years and older has been steadily increasing over the last century, for both men and women, and this trend is expected to continue.

In 2017, 15 per cent of Australians - about 3.8 million people - were aged 65 and over. Australian men aged 65 can currently expect to live another 20 years and women another 22 years.

"One of the challenges of ageing in a rural area is access to services, and that's to services in general. There are lots of areas in Murrumbidgee that have no general practitioner, for example, and then when it comes to specialised services, that can be challenging as well," Professor Finucane said.

"Even if you can access a doctor, the kind of services you need in the community to support you in the home environment if you're starting to struggle - people to help with meal preparation, people to help with keeping the house in order - it can be more challenging in a rural area.

"We're very conscious of that in trying to do what we can to develop social services as well as health services for people in rural and remote areas."