“We had to put a tent up because our house was badly damaged.
“We lived in tents for six weeks.”
She was 6 at the time, living near Kotemāori, with seven sisters and one brother.
Bircham recalls the simplicity of country life, walking three miles (4.8km) to school on gravel roads, little traffic, swimming holes in the creek, and watching her mother bake breads and puddings wrapped in cloth and hung from the ceiling.
Nola Bircham points to her younger self in a family portrait. Photo / Rafaella Melo
After the quake, her family eventually moved to Napier, settling in Enfield Rd. She said getting electricity felt like magic.
“I remember the day we ran around pulling all the cords in the house because we’d only ever had candles and kerosene lamps.”
When younger, Bircham used to attend balls, wearing white gloves and evening gowns.
“She loves music, used to love dancing, and is a very bubbly person until these days,” her daughter Lynda Fergusson said.
Bircham now lives at Waiapu House Lifecare, where she takes part in activities, reads widely and still wins the weekly trivia quiz.
“I read a lot. I go to the library and read their books, magazines and crosswords. And the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper, of course.”
Bircham will celebrate her milestone on Saturday surrounded by her family of four children, 17 grandchildren, 48 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great-grandchildren, with some travelling from Australia.
Nola Bircham with her four children: Lynda Fergusson,74, right, Karen Smith, 80, Les Hale, top left, 79, and Dave Hale, 76. Photo / Rafaella Melo
As for the secret to reaching 100, she says “enjoy life” and “make the most” of it every day.
“I don’t feel any different inside. I just do what I’ve always done… making good choices … and hoping I keep doing it as well as I can.”
The second Nola
Just a few kilometres from Bircham, an unrelated Nola in Taradale also blew out 100 candles this week.
That’s Nola Dooney, mother of six, grandmother of 17 and great-grandmother of 22, who still goes for a walk “every single day”.
That’s part of her long-life secret.
She grew up on a farm in Waihau, where one of her earliest memories is also the 1931 quake.
“We felt a rumble up there, things shook, but nothing major,” Dooney said.
“I could see all the black smoke from the earthquake over Napier. It was all a bit dusty and then there was the fire.”
At 6-years-old, Dooney described the quake as “fun”.
“The tank flew water out, the milking cow was racing around,” she recalled.
“But for me, it was fun. I wasn’t frightened because I had no one to frighten me. And I didn’t lose anything or anyone … on that day I still had mum.”
Dooney’s mother died unexpectedly not long after.
“That was the saddest day of my life … You don’t know how precious your mother is till you lose her,” she said.
Born in Napier in 1925, Nola Dooney is marking her 100th birthday. Photo / Rafaella Melo
Dooney said life in Hawke’s Bay is “quite different” from when she was young.
“Back in my day, you visited your neighbours … You hardly know your neighbours now,” she said.
“We used to go to dances every fortnight, that’s where I met my husband … Now there’s none. How do you meet the young people?”
But for her, some changes are welcomed.
To keep her mind sharp, the centenarian still reads Hawke’s Bay Today daily, keeping up with local news, including Napier’s six-storey housing plans.
This quake veteran has no concerns.
“I think that’s quite good. The building is good and necessary today,” she says.
Dooney celebrated her life with family and friends on Monday at Radius Hampton Court in Knightsbridge, where she has lived since October last year.
Until then, she was living on her own in a nearby unit, still independent at 98, before deciding “it was time for a bit of extra support”.
“She’s a role model for all of us,” granddaughter Kirsty Karangaroa said.
“She was such a strong sportswoman and was very determined. She loved her golf, was a spectacular tennis player, and won cups.”
Nola Dooney celebrates her 100th birthday in Taradale, surrounded by family. Photo / Rafaella Melo
As a sportswoman, Dooney still has her name on club boards across the Bay.
“She’s had three holes-in-one at golf,” Karangaroa said.
“Even now she walks around the block every day … you look at some 80 or 70-year-olds and Nana is more physically able than what they are.”
Dooney says, beside staying social and nurturing relationships, keeping active is “probably the main thing” for a long life, and her advice is simple.
“Get out and keep fit. And find a sport that you like.”