![Kiama friends Annette Young and Carolyn Crewe-Maxwell, both in their 70s, said they were not surprised to hear of the longevity of the town's women, as they knew many of were alive and well into their 90s. Picture by Sylvia Liber. Kiama friends Annette Young and Carolyn Crewe-Maxwell, both in their 70s, said they were not surprised to hear of the longevity of the town's women, as they knew many of were alive and well into their 90s. Picture by Sylvia Liber.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/78f010dd-0157-42fe-a356-5857de9ae54c.jpg/r0_307_6000_3694_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Women living in Kiama have a better chance of living to a very old age than the rest of the Illawarra's population, according to the latest data on death and life expectancy.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
In 2021, the median age of death for women in the region's southernmost local government area was 88-years-old - a full five years longer than the median age of death for the town's men.
According to new statistics from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the national median age at death was 79 years for men and 85 years for women.
Different to life expectancy, which describes the number of years from birth a person is expected to live, the median age of death is based on actual deaths in a given year.
While Kiama women lived the longest, Wollongong men had the lowest median age of death in the Illawarra, of 80.8 in 2021. The median age of death for men in Shellharbour was the next lowest, at 81.3.
Women in all three local LGAs lived longer than their male counterparts, with the median age of death of 83.6 for Shellharbour women and 86.5 for Wollongong women.
The data also shows how many people had a premature death (aged under 75), with 67 per cent of deaths registered in Australia in 2021 were among people aged 75 or over.
As reflected in the median death age, men were more likely to die early than women, with 67 per cent living past 75 compared to 73 per cent of women.
In Kiama, more than 86 per cent women who died in 2021 lived past 75, giving it the equal second lowest rate of premature death (13.2 per cent) across all NSW local government areas.
Kiama friends Annette Young and Carolyn Crewe-Maxwell, both in their 70s, said they were not surprised to hear of the longevity of the town's women, as they knew many of were alive and well into their 90s.
"It seems very accurate," Ms Crewe-Maxwell said.
"I think the environment here helps, and there's plenty of activities for older people to do, and there are plenty of community facilities, services and support.
"We have terrific doctors and chemists for people who need it."
Both residents of Bluehaven, Kiama's large retirement village and aged care facility, Ms Young and Ms Crewe-Maxwell said they rarely ever had a day without some type of activity or social engagement.
"There's so many things for people to become involved in if they want to, and I've also been a volunteer for Meals on Wheels a long time, which has been a great way of getting around and visiting people in the community."
In Wollongong, only one in five women (21.6%) died before the age of 75 in 2021, while more than a third of the city's men (34.6%) died prematurely.
In Shellharbour there was a smaller gap in the premature death rates for women and men, with 29.3% of women and 34.1% of men dying before 75 .
About a quarter of the men who died in Kiama in 2021 had a premature death.
Reading this on mobile web? Download our news app. It's faster, easier to read and we'll send you alerts for breaking news as it happens. Download in the Apple Store or Google Play.