Brenda Furze is reluctant to say it was love at first sight the night Tony offered her five cents for a smile at a dance hall in Mildura.
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In fact, she recalls, she really didn't want to go as "I wasn't into modern dancing" but she had agreed to accompany a work friend and their boyfriend.
But the moment Tony spotted Brenda in that hall, he was smitten.
"I went home and told my mum I was going to marry her," he says.
The pair danced that night, Tony took Brenda out for supper and then walked her to the bus stop.
He arrived on her doorstep the next day .. and, well, just kept showing up - despite the fact Brenda's mum didn't approve of Tony at all.
"I haunted her," he laughs.
But it wasn't smooth sailing as Tony had to fend off a few other blokes Brenda was seeing through her square dancing interest.
"I was pretty persistent; don't worry, I eased them out of the picture," he says.
Tony worked away driving trucks and would look forward to spending Saturday nights courting Brenda.
"I'd take her to the drive-in and fall asleep with my head in her lap," he admits.
"It was very romantic wasn't it?"
Something must have clicked - "Well, he was handsome and pleasant," Brenda says - because the pair became engaged at Tony's 21st birthday in May of 1970 and married on November 14.
Tony laughs as he reveals their son Dale, now 49, "came with us to the wedding" as his wife-to-be was pregnant.
"It rained on our wedding day - they say that's good luck - and the church leaked," Brenda reflects.
On Saturday, November 14, the couple celebrated their 50th anniversary and in typical Tony style, it was only luck that he made it home to celebrate.
He was in the middle of carting grain for a friend at Boree Creek who needed a hand with harvest when the header broke down.
"I said, 'You beauty' and raced home to have dinner with Brenda and our daughter Cindy (Hume) and left the next morning at daylight," Tony explains.
He did, however, leave his beloved wife "dripping in gold" to mark the occasion.
"I bought her some gold nail polish and she dipped her fingers in it," he jokes.
In fact it was a lovely gold bracelet, Brenda clarifies.
"He likes buying me jewellery," she says.
"That's Tony, he's a typical Taurean - down-to-earth, hard-working and loving.
"He's the fun side and I'm serious."
But it's been a match that has clearly worked; Tony says that's because of his wife's "ability to put up with me".
Their compatibility has not only seen them through 50 years of marriage but also more than 28 years in business together operating Outback Tag-A-Long Tours.
They share a love of travel and meeting new people.
They both also believe marriage - as in life - is about giving more than you take.
(Tony is a long-time supporter of Burrumbuttock Hay Runners trips to deliver hay to help drought-stricken farmers.)
And while both agree marriage takes work, Tony says it's actually very easy "when you've got a Rolls Royce".
"When you've got a ripper, it doesn't matter," he says.
"I've got 50 years of good memories ... I've booked in for another 25 years and we'll see how we're going after that!"