The Warrnambool mother-of-two and grandmother-of-two turns 100 on Sunday and will celebrate with a small gathering due to COVID-19 restrictions.

"Everyday is a lovely new day. The main lovely part is the lovely people, the good, helpful friends," she said.

"They have made life nice for me everywhere I went really."

Elizabeth, affectionately known as Bett Bett, was born on her family's Carranballac property, near Skipton, on August 2, 1920.

She was one of William Luke Fay and wife Elizabeth's eight children and remembers "walking two miles there and two miles back" to school as a youngster.

Education was important to the humble centenarian who boarded at Sacred Heart College in Ballarat and then advanced to teachers' college.

Elizabeth taught full-time before marrying Kevin Hurley in 1950 and having two children, Jacinta and Paddy.

The Hurleys were based in Hamilton. Kevin passed away in 1991 and Elizabeth moved in with her daughter in Warrnambool a decade ago. Son Paddy lives in Western Australia.

"In her house in Hamilton, she had a wood fire and up until the day she left she'd always chop the wood and light the fire, put the kettle on and cook her sponges," Jacinta said.

"She is a hard worker. When I get up of a morning, I'll get breakfast and say 'do you want the heater on Mum?' And she'll say 'no, I am busy, I have work to do'. She's got a routine."

Jacinta said her mother had a big impact on her extended family too, sharing a letter Elizabeth's niece Jenny wrote for her milestone birthday which summed up her affection for her 'Aunt Bett Bett'.

"I remember your delicious cooking and I especially like listening to you speak," it read.

"You have such beautiful elocution, sometimes when I am reading books, in my head the narrator's voice sounds just like you."

Elizabeth lived through "the terrible years" of World War II and remembers a time when "no teachers had motorcars except the principal and there was no electricity in the homes".

She's travelled far and wide, including to Europe and the United Kingdom, but is now comfortable exploring her home town.

"I have always loved the sea so Warrnambool is tops for me," Elizabeth said.

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