Griffith's Santa Dissegna celebrated her 100th birthday on May 20

Santina, or Santa Dissegna was born in Babinda in North Queensland in 1923 to Italian parents, who owned and operated a sugarcane farm where she often helped out before and after school - until the age of 13 when she left school entirely to help look after her sick sister.

It was just after World War II when the family relocated to Griffith, and abandoned growing sugarcane in favour of a fruit farm in Yoogali instead.

It was while working on the fruit farm that the future-Mrs Dissegna met her future husband Ben, who worked on a friend's rice paddock in the years before the two were married and bought their own farm.

"We got married at Saint Mary's Catholic church ... We were the first ones to get married with the bell," she reflected fondly on her time.

"He worked on the rice farm for a friend, and then we bought one for ourselves."

"We had chooks, we had pigs, and sheep, we had a lot of food. We had plenty of fruit, there was vegetables in the garden so there was no worry with food."

During those years, the two hosted many friends at their beautiful property - and even hosted people's kids during school holidays to enjoy the dam and property and home-made cooking.

"They'd put them on a plane the night school finished, and the day before, we'd put them on a plane and they'd fly back. They were nine first, and then when they started finishing school and got a job, they didn't come anymore."

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In 1980, the pair retired from the farm - five years before Ben passed away.

While Ben passed away in 1985, Mrs Dissegna has been making the most of her retirement in the years since with plenty of travel and getting involved in the community.

She and daughter Vanessa attributed her long life to four F's.

"Food, family, faith and friends," they agreed.

Mrs Dissegna said some highlights of her life had included seeing the Pope in 1966, during a tour of Italy connecting with her heritage - visiting Venice, where her husband was born and Sicily, where her parents lived.

She's visited most Australian capital cities, as well as countries including Switzerland, France, Spain and Singapore, but with all the travel, family remained the most important thing.

Mrs Dissegna said she felt very lucky to have her family now - with three children, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren - with one coming by frequently after school to play cards.

"I'm really blessed."

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