Rosemary Bowman might have preferred a letter from the Queen, but it seems the King's stationery will do.
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"Oh it was lovely, but I'm sad it couldn't have been from the Queen," Ms Bowman said.
"But yes, I am very grateful."
King Charles doesn't lift his pen for just any occasion, with the letter arriving to mark Ms Bowman joining the triple digit club, having turned 100 years old on Friday, 28 July 2023.
The centenarian has a long and storied history with Bendigo, having moved from Melbourne as a 20-year-old to join the armed forces at the start of World War II.
Waiting for her posting at her mother's house in Melbourne, Ms Bowman got the call to say they would be sending her to Bendigo.
"The phone rang and they said, 'we're sending you to the Bendigo Cartographic Company'," she said.
"And I can remember saying to my mother, 'what on earth is a cartographic company?'."
So off she went, to Bendigo's Villa Fortuna - the then company headquarters - printing and storing maps for the Australian Military Forces.
"That was a very interesting part of my life," she said.
"It was a very worthwhile occupation, which I enjoyed doing."
It wasn't all work though, with one of Ms Bowman's fondest memories being of when her colleagues celebrated her 21st birthday with a "wonderful" bonfire.
When asked if she thought the nursing home she now lives in would do the same for her 100th birthday, she said she didn't think so.
"But the flowers will do," Ms Bowman said.
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Though a bonfire is off the cards, the staff at Ms Bowman's nursing home had planned a lunch, complete with balloons and a few presents.
Ms Bowman has two sons still in Bendigo, Peter and Mark Bowman, and a third son David Bowman, now living in Perth, but travelling east to be part of the special occasion.
Ms Bowman has survived her late husband Thomas.
While Ms Bowman said she "felt no different" having reached triple digits, she offered up what she had learnt having outlived wars, depressions, stock market crashes, and hair styles.
"I've just accepted life as it has treated me," she said.
"And I've gone along with what happens and made the best of everything, and enjoyed myself."
Along with the King's penmanship, Ms Bowman received letters of congratulations from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, and Member for Bendigo East Jacinta Allan, among other dignitaries.
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