Mrs Edwards this month celebrated her 90th birthday with family in the Yarraville property she has called home for 70 years.

"I worked until I was 63. I had to because I had six children.

"Women around here were very strong. The men were away at war and we had to be self-sufficient," she says.

Her husband, Herbert, died 32 years ago.

Mrs Edwards is a true 'westie', with a long lineage of descendants who lived in Footscray, and she has a passion for the Western Bulldogs.

"I was there when they won the premiership in 1954. It was marvellous.

"I knew all the players at the time. Teddy Whitten lived just around the corner."

Having retired from work and raised a family, she is now living it up on cruises to Fiji and Hawaii and loves spending time with her 13 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.