Tamworth's Phyllis Bylund celebrates her 104th birthday marking more than a century of community spirit and travel

Despite being told by a fortune teller she'd never make it past 66, Ms Bylund has spent more than a century travelling, crafting and raising money for local charities.

On the advice of her doctor to move to a dryer climate, Ms Bylund's decision to move to Tamworth has definitely given the city a new spark.

Over the years Ms Bylund said she had "done a lot for charity" as a generous volunteer and hard-working fundraiser.

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As a true innovator she was always thinking up new ways to raise money for charity.

She used home grown fruit to sell relishes and chutney, spent her evenings knitting and sewing to raffle off her handiworks, collected and donated stamps to fund church initiatives and sold trinkets and souvenirs from her overseas travels to support the local community.

Unfortunately, Ms Bylund said she "can't do all that stuff now" as her hands have gone "a bit stiff".

While she has dedicated much of her life to serving Tamworth she hasn't always called the country music capital home.

"Work wise I always had a travelling job," she said.

Ms Bylund side stepped the traditional role of women for her day and took up a career with the Postmaster General's Department, first as a telephonist at Lismore and ultimately as a supervisor, trainer and inspector across the New England and north west.

While Ms Bylund spent most of her working life in the north west of NSW, she was also quite the traveller and has visited Japan, the United States, Canada, Fiji, Tonga, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, New Zealand and Indonesia.

She said she couldn't choose a favourite location, but "some places are nicer to go to than others".

While Ms Bylund usually spends her birthday celebrating with her younger sister Gwen Ptolemy, who is also turning 93 today, as Ms Bylund is a resident at Bupa Aged Care this year COVID-19 restrictions have forced them apart.

While a wave through the window is allowed, this year the sisters won't be able to give each other a birthday hug.

"I don't see much of her now since I've been up here [Bupa]," Ms Bylund said.

As per the restrictions, "they've already told her that if she comes here they won't let her in to see me".

On her 100^th birthday, where she arrived to lunch in a stretch limousine, Ms Bylund told The Leader that the key to a long life was to drink lots of water, get plenty of sleep and not smoke.

And four years later she hasn't changed her tune, as Ms Bylund said her biggest tip was to "just behave yourself".

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