Gwenda Benstead celebrates a century

By Grace Carter

Apr 7, 2025

Gwenda Benstead with a letter from the King for her 100th birthday. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

Gwenda Benstead doesn’t know how she got to be 100 years old, but she has always enjoyed her life and kept moving forward with a smile on her face.

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Gwen was born in Bright on April 8, 1925, and over the course of her life has moved to Tawonga and Wangaratta, and now lives in Shepparton at Mercy Place.

“It’s amazing, but I don’t know how I got here,” Gwen said.

“It doesn’t feel real.”

She married her husband, Charlie Benstead, in 1949, and spent 36 wonderful years with him before he passed away from pancreatic cancer at 57 years old.

Birthday cards and a wedding photo of Gwenda and her late husband, Charlie. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

The couple had three children: John, Ross and Janene.

Although Charlie’s death was a sad time for her, Gwen found a way to keep going.

“I didn’t want that to happen, but it did happen, and I can’t do anything about it,” she said.

“You can’t go back, you’ve got to go forward.”

Now, she has six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

The secret to Gwen’s long life? It may just be in her genes, because her sister turns 102 later in April, and her cousins passed away at 103 and 102 years old.

She has “filled life in with being busy and happy”, something she said has also helped her reach 100 years.

“I’ve done lots of things, I’ve always been busy,” she said.

“I’ve always kept with my art, and I went to learn the organ again after I lost Charlie.

“I’ve always been there to help people.”

Gwenda Benstead in 1948. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

Gwenda Benstead when she was a baby. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

Gwen was rewarded with a badge of long service from the Australian Red Cross, for cooking for the firefighters when there were bushfires.

She also spent 15 years as a successful Avon lady, selling beauty products and winning prizes — including a trip to Sydney.

Gwen celebrated her 100th birthday with an afternoon tea on Sunday, April 6, with family members who had travelled from Melbourne, Mount Barker in South Australia and Tawonga.