Robin and Ron Wilson met on a school bus in Sydney when they were just 14-years-old.
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Fast forward more than 60 years, and the couple are still together, having just celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary earlier this month.
The pair marked their 60th wedding anniversary on November 16 with a large family gathering at their home in Ngunnawal.
Both Mr and Mrs Wilson went to different schools in Sydney’s north suburbs during the 1950s.
“We had friends in the same groups and we went out and different things together,” Mrs Wilson said.
The couple tied the knot in a ceremony at a small church in Hunters Hill in Sydney, before spending a week-long honeymoon at Surfers Paradise.
After living in Sydney for several years, the newlyweds moved to Canberra in 1962 after Mr Wilson took up a job as an accountant.
“There was an airplane crash in Botany Bay in 1961, and my husband was transferred to Canberra to take over the job of one of the accountants who died in the crash,” Mrs Wilson.
The pair moved to Campbell, where they stayed for 27 years, before moving to Lyneham and eventually Ngunnawal.
While many things have changed in their 60 years of marriage, Mrs Wilson said the biggest change has been the growth of Canberra during that time.
“When we first came to Canberra, Red Hill was the furthest point as well as Black Mountain,” she said.
“We had friends in Hughes at the time, and we thought that was miles away.”
The couple have four children as well as eight grandchildren, who all came from around the country to celebrate the wedding anniversary last weekend.
“My eldest son organised it all, unbeknownst to us,” Mrs Wilson said.
“We thought we were just going out to dinner with the immediate family, but it turned out to be much bigger than that.”
Six decades after their wedding, both Mr and Mrs Wilson said it’s been hard to believe it has been so long since their big day.
They said, however, there was one secret to the marriage lasting for so long.
“Communication is important between a couple,” she said.
Andrew Brown
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
