Mrs Mary Holmes, at 106, probably the oldest woman in Palmerston North at the time. She came to New Zealand in 1908 from London with her husband, Edgar, and lived to the ripe old age of 106. A school teacher before the move to New Zealand, Mrs Holmes first lived in Christchurch, shifted to Wellington in the 1920s and moved to Palmerston North in 1960, after her husband died. The couple had been all over New Zealand, sailing the coasts when Mr Holmes worked for the New Zealand Shipping Company. Daughter, Mrs Faith Fuller, said her mother attributed her longevity to good plain food, plenty of walking and gardening. At 98 she still holidayed with the family around New Zealand. Mrs Holmes had never been in hospital until she was 96 when she had an operation and shifted to Awapuni Hospital from her daughter and son-in-law's home only 18 months before her death. See also Pi303.