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Mona Wiggins loves playing lawn bowls. (ABC Gold Coast: Glenn Mullane)

Link copiedShareShare articleTo celebrate her 105th birthday this week, all Mona Wiggins wanted to do was what she loves best — play lawn bowls.

"I just love the exercise and the company," Mrs Wiggins said.

Her love for the sport is so strong she chose her Gold Coast retirement village specifically because it has a private green.

And at least twice a week the centenarian takes full advantage, but she also plays darts, putts on the golf green and does her own weekly grocery shop.

"The hardest thing is to get her to stop," said her son, Greg Robertson, 77, who travelled with his 73-year-old brother Tony from New Zealand to celebrate with their mother.

"People just gravitate towards her because of her energy and how physically active she is," Greg said.

Mona Wiggins has celebrated her 105th birthday. (ABC Gold Coast: Glenn Mullane)

Mrs Wiggins was born in 1921 in country New South Wales and spent much of her life working in retail jobs.

She said there was no real secret to her longevity beyond a lifelong love of being on the move and keeping things simple.

"I've always been active all my life and always played sport," she said.

"I've eaten well and lived a good life.

"I like steak and vegetables, casserole and vegetables, roast dinners.

"I don't like the taste of wine. I love chocolate — I've had too many lately," she laughed.

Tony said his mother often caught people unaware, particularly because of her sharp mind.

"Because she's so lucid, you can talk to her about Australia in the 1920s and what it was like living through the depression and the war and everything like that," Tony said.

"It's living history for us."

Mona Wiggins's three children joined in the celebrations. (ABC Gold Coast: Glenn Mullane)

But, he said, with that sharp mind came an unrelenting stubbornness.

"We argue every time we go out to a restaurant about who's paying," Tony laughed.

"She won't let us pay."

Mrs Wiggins celebrated her birthday on Tuesday surrounded by family and fellow bowlers, many of whom are half her age.

"It's been one of my best birthdays because we've all been together," she said.

Among those attending was Mrs Wiggins's 81-year-old daughter Lyn Daines, who lives at the same retirement village.

While they may live in the same place, Ms Daines said her mother was "very independent".

Mona Wiggins lives at a retirement village on the Gold Coast. (ABC Gold Coast: Danielle Mahe)

She said it was still difficult to believe her mum was 105.

"When I take her shopping, people think that we're sisters and say, 'Your sister's waiting outside,'" she said.

"And I have to say, 'Oh that's my mother', and they do a big double take."

In addition to her three children, Mrs Wiggins has six grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandsons.

Mrs Wiggins's advice to others is simple.

"Just get up and do things," she said.

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