This was not how Les Weston expected to be spending his 100th birthday.
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Reaching his centenary on April 29 was meant to be marked with a lot more fanfare than it will end up being.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tarcutta local will be spending his birthday in the company of just a few family members, having had to cancel his large-scale party options.
"I'm disappointed I won't be able to have the party," Mr Weston said.
"A few of us might have a bit of a dinner if we're allowed."
His seven surviving children, 12 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren live all over the country. Bringing them together for his special day may prove a challenge amid ongoing restrictions.
In other news:
Across his lifetime, Mr Weston has been a standout member of the Tarcutta community. Acknowledging his enormous contribution to the town, in 2001, Mr Weston was granted an Order of Australia.
But many years before he came to settle in Tarcutta, Mr Weston spent time on the front lines of battle, serving in the navy during World War II.
He was stationed on the waters outside the Northern Territory the week the Japanese attempted an invasion of Darwin in 1942.
"At one stage we'd have an air raid every night," Mr Weston recalls.
"None of us really expected Japan to land there, I don't think we were too worried."
Bravado aside, Mr Weston did come within metres of perilous danger during the infamous bombing.
"A bomb dropped on the side of the ship, just off from where I was standing," he said.
"I got quite the splash, but it missed me and it missed the ship. It was like a thunderstorm, the air rushing past.
"You don't have too much time to think about it, it all just happens so quickly."
Over four years, Mr Weston took part in military operations across the Pacific, primarily in New Guinea, the Philippines and in Borneo.
But his illustrious military career pails in comparison to what he says is his life's crowning achievement.
"When I got married in 1951, that was my proudest moment," he said.
"Having my family, that's also been my proudest [achievement]."
Mr Weston's late-wife Helen passed away 20 years ago. They had been childhood friends.
"I don't remember when I met her, I always knew her. She lived not far off and our families were friends," Mr Weston said.
Having lived a long and rich life, Mr Weston has a word of simple advice for future generations.
"Do the best you can because you can't predict what will happen," he said.
"I wouldn't have ever predicted what the world would be like right now. It's not how I expected to be turning 100."