Escaping the Russian Revolution as a child, Vera Valentine decided she would live to 100 so she could open a letter from the Queen. And now she has - a fragile Mrs. Valentine (nee Irschenko) celebrating her centenary on Friday with family at the Pyramid Retirement Centre at Gordonvale, her home for the past seven years.

Mrs. Valentine was born in 1908 in Novokievsk, Russia - her parents, Alexander and Anastasia, much-loved by both aristocrats and the poor after donating a large sum of money to the Red Cross in St Petersburg in 1903. When her uncle was shot in the lead-up to the Revolution, Mrs. Valentine's father adopted his children and together the family fled the Communists for China. Mrs. Valentine's great nephew, Michael MacKellar, tells her story.

"She would recall the wonderful winters she had in St Petersburg and ice skating behind the Winter Palace," he said. "She's got a heart of gold and always saw the good things in people." Mrs. Valentine attended a private English school in Tensen, China - often journeying by boat along the Yangtze River to get there. "It would take her a week," Mr. MacKellar said. "On one journey the boat was attacked by pirates as it sat on the sandbank waiting for the river to rise. Her parents were quick to act and in one cabin a wealthy man had died on the journey."

Mrs. Valentine and her sister, Nan, were made to hide in the dead man's cabin. "The pirates stole everything, even the brass fittings," Mr. MacKellar said. "They were very superstitious and showered the dead man with jewels before leaving."

Mr. MacKellar said his great aunt was particularly fond of the 1920s and 30s. "There was no depression in China then and life was one big party," he said. "She loved playing tennis at the commercial club." But in 1939 when World War II began, Mrs. Valentine became a prisoner of war. "It was pretty tough for her," he said. "Food was scarce and if you got some you were doing well. "One Christmas there was a dead horse for dinner, which was better than rice seven days a week."

Mrs. Valentine married Gilbert Valentine, an electronics engineer. He died three years into their marriage from lung cancer. "They loved listening to the famous opera singer Mario Lanza," he said. "They were true romantics." She became an Australian citizen in 1957 and travelled the world twice.
Mrs. Valentine is the first resident to live at the retirement village to 100 and while she has dementia and hardly speaks, she remains happy. "She's in the twilight of her life now," Mr. MacKellar said. "Her parents lived until they were 97 and the only medication she takes is eyedrops."