Family, friends and HMAS Moreton personnel turned out in force to help celebrate a remarkable milestone, Murielle Ahern's 100th birthday.
Ms Ahern was born in Boonah, Queensland, on January 22, 1925, and worked with the US military before enlisting into the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) during WW2.
She is now one of the few remaining veterans of the Second World War.
The daughter of an Irish immigrant, William McGrath, and Alice McGrath (nee Musgrave), a direct descendant of former Queensland Governor Sir Anthony Musgrave, Ms Ahern was raised on a dairy farm and attended Kalbar State School.
She went on to complete her education as a boarder, first at St Mary's Primary School, Ipswich, followed by All Hallows School in Brisbane.
From 1943-44, she served as a 'Bataan' exchange operator, handling confidential communications for General Douglas MacArthur, the Commanding General of the Allied Forces in the south-west Pacific during WW2, who had established his headquarters in Brisbane.
On April 4, 1945, Ms Ahern was inducted into the WRANS, completing her initial training at Moreton before being transferred to HMAS Penguin.
'We worked hard and performed essential wartime functions while the sailors were at sea.'
She said the weekly Friday night dances were a highlight - one of which led to a memorable waltz with a "gorgeous tall man", later revealed to be Prince Philip.
Shortly after, news broke of his engagement to Princess Elizabeth
"I have always let people know that I have danced with Prince Philip," Ms Ahern said.
"There were so many other naval occasions. When you have lots of girls together, we're quite capable of getting up to mischief.
"We would dress in our 'civvies' before going to bed at night, pretending to be asleep. Then we would sneak out under the wire and head off to a nightclub, before returning through the bush to safety.
"All the lovely girls got along happily every day. We worked hard and performed essential wartime functions while the sailors were at sea."
Ms Ahern also remembers marching in Sydney with thousands of other Defence Force personnel to mark the end of WW2 in the Pacific and Europe.
Commanding Officer Moreton Commander Rosemarie Apikotoa said it was an honour to celebrate such a milestone with Ms Ahern.
"Murielle, you were a trailblazer for all women as they've come up through the ranks," she said.
"Had you and your cadre not paved the way back then, we would not be where we are today."
Ms Ahern also received letters of acknowledgement and recognition of her 100th birthday from His Majesty King Charles, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Defence Personnel Matt Keogh, to name a few.
"I don't know how I became so famous," she said.
