LongeviQuest is delighted to announce the age validation of Gertie Nesbitt of Australia at age 110. She was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom on 3 July 1882 and passed away in Burwood East, Victoria, Australia on 5 August 1992 at the age of 110 years. She was a devout Catholic and attended mass regularly. She worked as a milliner and a typist.

Nesbitt was 67 years old when she moved to Australia in 1949. She never married and had no children. She worked as a housekeeper for two priests from the age of 70 to 90. She lived with her niece, Sadie Ramsay, in Burwood, Victoria, until she was 106 years old. She then moved into a nursing home in Burwood East, a suburb of Melbourne. On her 110th birthday, she claimed that she had no secret for her longevity, but offered advice to young people, “Be good and kind.”

Nesbitt at the age of 110

In 1991, Nesbitt received a telegram from Australia’s then-Prime Minister Bob Hawke, congratulating her on her 109th birthday. On 30 July 1992, six days before her death, she became Australia’s oldest resident following the death of 111-year-old Beatrice Pollock. Upon her own death, the title passed to Kit St. Clair, then aged 109.

LongeviQuest congratulates Gertie Nesbitt’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Nesbitt’s Directory Profile here.

Marija Ruljancic, a Croatian-Australian supercentenarian, celebrated her 110th birthday on 13 June 2023 with her family in Hawthorne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She now has two birthday celebratory messages from monarchs: from King Charles III for her 110th and from the late Queen Elizabeth II on her 100th to 109th. Mrs. Ruljancic is currently the oldest known living Croatian-born person, the oldest living person in Victoria, and the third-oldest known living person in Australia after Catherina van der Linden and Dulcie Fawcett. Her age validation is under review.

Congratulatory messages from two monarchs (source: www.theage.com.au)

Mrs. Ruljancich was born in Vis, Austria-Hungary, (present-day Croatia) on 13 June 1913 from a family of winemakers. However, their family business was ruined by the effects of the 1918 Great Influenza pandemic.

At the age of 19, she married Ivan Ruljancich and have three children, eight grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren. She currently lives with her son, Dr. Kevin Ruljancich, a Melbourne oral and maxillofacial surgeon. His son sacrificed his social life to carefully shield his mother from becoming infected with COVID-19.

She attributes her long life to a healthy lifestyle, which includes abstaining from alcohol and tobacco and eating in moderation.

LongeviQuest sends our warmest congratulations to Mrs. Marija Ruljancic and her family. We wish you good health and happiness.