Barnawartha's Colin and Irene Margery reflect on 70 years of marriage on anniversary

The former Barnawartha cattle farmers will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary on Tuesday.

Colin and Irene's families were both involved with the town's football club, but with Colin six years her senior, they started to get to know each better at social events.

"Irene used to work at the post office so I started coming in to get the mail twice a day," Colin laughed.

"I had to ride a horse about six miles into Barnawartha.

"We'd always have dances on Saturday nights."

The pair were quick to form a connection and were married at the Barnawartha Anglican Church on April 19, 1952.

"I suppose I liked the look of him back then and I suppose he's still alright," Irene said.

"The secret is to be loyal and true to each other. I think that's the main thing and it's important to look after each other. That goes with kindness."

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But when asked who has the last word, Irene was quick to respond.

"I'd like to say I do, but I might be telling a fib. We share the last word," she said.

Colin and Irene experienced bushfires and floods on their property, Rocky Point, outside Barnawartha.

One flood in particular became quite lively for a number of reasons.

"During one flood we had, I killed 43 tiger snakes in one day," Colin revealed.

"The flood came in that quick overnight and I lost one of my dogs. There was cattle everywhere and I went through in a boat and nearly every gum tree had one or two snakes in the bark.

"I think Irene killed about a dozen around the house as well. It was a bad year.

"We also got burnt out on the farm twice by bushfires."

Irene said they had been fortunate to have travelled abroad to Scotland, Hawaii and New Zealand and have also enjoyed many trips within Australia.

"We went to Scotland for a family reunion and my mother and father and my sister and her husband came with us," she said.

"We still try to go to the south coast every year.

"We go to Batemans Bay or Narooma, anywhere really. We're actually going again next month."

Irene turned 90 at the start of April, while Colin had his 96th birthday in January.

Having lost many of their closest friends in recent years, Colin and Irene feel blessed to have such a loving family.

They cherish time with their four children, Helen, Lynette, Geoff, who now runs the family farm, and Debbie, as well as their 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, most of whom will be by their side today.

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