A VICTORIA Point resident who travelled the globe as a missionary for much of her life has celebrated her 100th birthday.
Betty Palmer, who lives at Adventist Retirement Village, marked a century in the company of family and friends on February 18.
Mrs Palmer was born in New Zealand in 1920. She was raised in a poor family as her father, a returned soldier, was unable to work.
She met husband Nelson at college but the pair graduated early due to the war.
"They married and were missionaries for many years," daughter Jill Fischer said.
"She started off in Pitcairn, the Cook Islands and then Fiji, where both my sister Judi and I were born.
"Soon after I was born we moved to (Papua) New Guinea, to the highlands which was pretty remote in that time."
They did a seven-year stint in Zambia before moving to Sydney where Mr Palmer was a church minister until his retirement.
"They were volunteer missionaries on Lord Howe Island for a few years," Mrs Fischer said.
"Mum was always in the background but probably the brains of the show."
While Mr Palmer had a knack for history and English, Mrs Palmer was mathematically-minded and would help to train teachers.
Living in isolated corners of the world, she often had to deal with scenarios she was not trained for.
"One of my early memories of her is her screaming at me to lock the doors. She was being chased round the house by a man who had cerebral malaria and was psychotic," daughter Judi Wood said.
Perils like these did not stop Mrs Palmer from making herself at home every time the family moved.
"Mum was a huge gardener - everywhere she went she set up a vegetable and flower garden, that was really her passion and outlet and a necessity for food, because often it would be six or 12 months before they went to a town," Mrs Fischer said.
Mrs Wood and Mrs Fischer described their mother as methodical, practical and always there for her children.
"You always knew that you were absolutely and totally loved," Mrs Fischer said.
She was also an nature lover, raising orphaned animals like birds and tree kangaroos in Papua New Guinea.
She had a passion for shells and had an extensive collection, learning all their scientific names.
Mr and Mrs Palmer lived a rich life together of almost 70 years before Mr Palmer died eight years ago, aged 92.
The pair had two children, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, many of whom visited Adventist Retirement Village to celebrate Mrs Palmer's milestone on Tuesday.
