When Rena McCawley turns 100, on June 22, she will brace for a brisk morning hot air balloon ride to celebrate.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
For a woman who has spent so much of her life hunting for interesting perspectives to capture on camera, it will be a moment to remember – a chance to see Canberra in a new light.
From her full schedule of activities one could not guess Mrs McCawley was on the brink of becoming a centenarian.
She studies Russian with the University of the Third Age, is taking a computer skills course and is building a collection for her solo photographic exhibition to be held in September at Canberra Artworks in Phillip.
Born to a Russian mother and British father in St Petersberg, then Petrograd, in 1916 she is a true "child of the Russian Revolution".
As a toddler she lived through the end of World War 1, her family escaped to Riga, Latvia, but before she was a teen they'd fled to Australia in search of work during the Great Depression.
"People used to talk about WW1 as 'the war to end all wars' and that embedded itself in my mind," she said. "I've been waiting all my years for wars to stop. It is a big disappointment to me."
She was a newlywed when WW2 broke out, and while her husband Leo was fighting she trained as a nurse.
Later she returned to photography and worked for a while in Brisbane at The Courier Mail.
Since moving to Canberra two decades ago her neighbour Margaret Kalms has become a great friend.
The pair share stories, debate about current affairs and the fate of feminism, and exhibit their photography regularly as members of the Belconnen Artists Network.
An unforgettable moment was when Mrs Kalms and Mrs McCawley met the then Governor General, Quentin Bryce.
Ms Kalms said her friend Rena loved adventure, discussion and speaking her mind.
After her husband Leo died Mrs McCawley took a round-the-world trip staying, as a woman in her mid-70s, in 1980s youth hostels throughout Europe.
And it's not something she's given up.
"We recently took a trip together to the Art Gallery NSW and stayed in the YWCA," Margaret said. "My family said, with me nudging sixty and Rena nearing 100, whether we knew what the Y stood for."
Reaching such a milestone Mrs McCawley said many had asked what her secret to longevity was.
"I tell people fitness," she said. "I was always fit, as a young girl [I was] in the gym every day. My legs fail me a bit now but I still do 15 minutes of jerks in the morning.
"It's good for the body and the mind."
