Former Rochester dairy farmers, George and Marje Milne have celebrated 70 years of marriage.
The couple tied the knot on November 12, 1949 at St Peter’s Church in Eaglehawk.
Now with a big happy family and a lifetime together to commemorate, the pair reflect on times of hard work, hardship and most of all, love.
“We were just a young pair of kids who enjoyed each other’s company and who just wanted to be together,” Mr Milne said.
“And that’s how it has been since; we met in 1943 halfway through the war and we married in 1949 and have never been apart since.”
The two left Eaglehawk in 1953 to begin farming and start a family, and to eventually run a successful dairy farm for 18 years in Rochester, where they have now happily retired to.
“Our children were all into sports and played football and netball for various clubs: Calivil, Rochester and Bamawm,” Mr Milne said.
“We love our family dearly and love to see our young grandchildren and great grandchildren grow into confident, well-adjusted young men and women — it gives us plenty to live for.
“It has been a wonderful journey for us both. Our love for one another and strong commitment to our marriage has seen us through the occasional difficult times early on with everything needed to make a home when a family starts to grow.
“We were both born prior to the start of the Great Depression and we grew up during those times of great hardship for our parents, and we were old enough during the ‘30s to understand how hard it must have been for them to put food on the table.
“But we survived that period only to have World War II begin in 1939, giving us another six years of hardship — shortages and ration books.”