Gregory and Marie Coleman recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with flowers, cards and visits from loved ones.
Bundaberg Mayor Helen Blackburn was also on hand to wish the couple well as they marked the significant milestone.
Having lived and retired in Bundaberg, Gregory and Marie first met in Inverell where her father ran a hardware store and his parents owned a property in nearby Ashford.
They both attended local schools and Marie said after first meeting through his sister, their relationship developed from there.
“His sister was a great friend of mine and we used to play tennis and things together and that’s how I met Greg originally,” Marie said.
“It just happened over time, we got on well together.”
The Colemans were married on 24 April 1954 at the Sacred Heart Church in Inverell with the local newspaper reporting on all the details of the wedding which included 164 guests.
“Well everybody sort of knew us,” Marie said.
“Greg would play cricket and I played tennis and we knew most of the young ones around.”
Following a honeymoon in Mount Tamborine, the couple moved around to different areas including Brisbane, Gayndah and Bundaberg where Gregory ran a real estate agency.
They went on to have six children (three daughters and three sons) and now have ten grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
“It was our attempt to populate the world,” laughed Marie.
The couple were always community spirited, helping out at local schools and churches, which Marie believes played a role in their many years of happy marriage.
“We just got along together and we were involved in the community, I think that’s part of it,” Marie said.
“We were some of the lucky ones.”
