Although it helps that Australians are living longer, the difficulty is that each descendant needs to have started a family by their early 20s - and these days the average age of women having their first baby is closer to 30.

But the Avey family has managed it, as this photo sent by Bellingen resident Janaya Sheehy proves.

Matriarch Janet Avey, aged 98, is the great-great-great-grandmother of the littlest one, six-week-old Oakley Hibberd.

Also pictured are Janette Avey, 78; Sharon Stoves, 61; Benjamin Sheehy, 42; and new mum Kiarra Sheehy, 21.

The family originally hails from Scotland and are now dispersed from the top of Australia down to Melbourne. They've been in the Coffs region for 30 years.

Janaya, who is fifth generation and whose parents have lived in Bellingen since 1994, says they're "a big, fun-loving and happy family".

Janet came to Australia in the war years and now has 73 descendants.

She married Fred in 1941 and they had five children. She has 14 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, 28 great-great-grandchildren and one great-great-great grandchild. And she has another great-great-great grandchild due in February.

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