Joy Davis 96 years old continues daily swims in Portland pool

On a sunny day in Victoria's far west, 96-year-old Joy Davis stands on the edge of Portland's public pool ready for her daily swim.

Without warning, she cries, "Ready? Go!" then leaps into the cold water feet first, sinks to the bottom of the shallow end and bobs back up wearing a swashbuckling smile.

This is how Joy begins her swim every day of the working week.

"I don't swim on weekends, those are for family," she said.

Family time is extensive for the Davis clan, who could easily outnumber many rural schools. Joy has 15 children, 42 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren.

I prefer to swim

Joy has stuck at her swimming routine for decades, ever since 1977, when as mayor of Portland, she officially opened the now Portland Leisure and Aquatic Centre.

Investing in the healthy habit has paid big dividends.

She enjoys a high quality of life in her 90s: good health, all her marbles and lots of independence. And according to current research, it likely has a lot to do with her lifelong love of the water.

"It's exercised all my bones and muscles and everything to act properly," Joy said.

On land, Joy toils with all the aches and pains of 96 rotations around the sun. Even so, she is still very mobile and lives at home on the second level of a townhouse with a steep, narrow staircase.

"I've got two metal knees, but I was swimming again after four days. I'd prefer to swim than walk."

Joy's daughter Kim Shand drives her to the pool each morning. She says that throughout her mum's long and sometimes difficult life, she has always found a body of water to plunge into.

"Mum first started swimming while living at the Church of England children's home in Brighton," Kim said.

"She told me that an old lady took her and five other kids in her car to the Brighton Baths and taught them how to swim in the choppy sea, when she was about eight years old."

When Joy was 10, her mother became terminally ill with tuberculosis and was taken to a sanatorium.

Joy and her younger sister were sent to a children's home and the youngest was sent to a babies' home.

"Mum came home from hospital and spent the last six months with us. I was in eighth grade when she died, my little sister was only three," Joy said.

"So you step up: go and get the groceries for the week and help dad do the washing."

Joy said at the children's home they were kept in line by force.

"You'd hold your hand out and get the cane," she said.

"If you pulled your hand back, they'd whip you round the legs with it.

Joy of the pool

In the water is where Joy has always found freedom.

Free from interruptions, free from gravity, free to think.

In the pool, she moves gracefully, cutting through the water in slick lines. At the end of each lap, she pushes off the wall, turning elegantly from freestyle to backstroke and back again, without pause.

Joy says she has never found it hard to get out of bed early for her swim, simply because she loves it.

"I just love the water sliding over my shoulders and splashing.

"And you can plan your day out without any interference, so I'm able to attack the day without any worries."

Diving in

There's a sparkle in Joy's eyes, she's quick-witted and keeps track of all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren better than anyone else.

Joy recalls memories from her long life as if pulling files from a well-organised cabinet.

"I used to dive," Joy says, smiling as she remembers splicing the air from daring heights.

"When we were kids, we'd walk miles to the Surrey Dives, an old quarry at Box Hill."

The quarry was a thrilling summer escape from the children's home for Joy and her younger sister.

"I'd dive off great big cliffs, 20 to 30 feet, I used to love that," she said.

On her kitchen chair, Joy arcs her arms above her head grinning and bursts through the cool water of her childhood.

Geriatric physiotherapist Sarah Gravolin says middle life is a critical time to get active.

"Getting older, it's 25 percent genetics, 75 percent lifestyle," she said.

"So there's a whole lot we can influence around what we eat, what we drink, how much we prioritise sleep, movement, social interaction and challenging our brains to keep learning."

Sarah says the aging process begins early, so it's important to set up good habits young.

"As soon as you can start seeing wrinkles and grey hair, so at 30 to 40, on the inside there are changes related to aging as well," she said.

"The fibres shorten and they're less robust, our joints get stiffer, there's less lubricating fluid in the joints and the cartilage starts to get thinner.

"But if you're 80 and you've not done anything, you can still get a lot of benefits from starting to exercise."

And those benefits extend to things like happiness and brain function as well.

"Exercise is really good for boosting memory and reflexes, reaction times, which links back to balance, flexibility, nimbleness," she said.

Sarah says that the alternative, doing nothing, can result in a very difficult old age.

"The reality is that's pushing a button for someone to help you go the toilet. That's how hard it gets, that that you need someone to help pull back the covers to get out of bed," she said.

The Department of Health and Aged Care has reported that half of adults and two thirds of children don't meet the national physical activity guidelines.

For children, that's at least 60 minutes a day of vigorous activity and no more than two hours of recreational screen time.

For adults, it means getting active every day and clocking up to five hours of physical activity a week.

Just keep swimming

Joy's advice to people wanting to change their lifestyle is simple.

"You just hop in and do it," she said.

"You go to the pool each morning and you jump in and you do a couple of laps the first morning."

"If you get puffed, do four laps the following morning and you'll get used to it."