Captured by the country girl

By Mara Pattison-Sowden
YARRA Junction couple Colin and Celma Darwell celebrated “a good life” this month, with 60 years of marriage.
They had a big party at St Joseph’s Sports Performing Arts centre on 5 March with family and friends coming from as far as Tasmania and New South Wales.
Colin was a city boy and grew up around Melbourne, working as an apprentice die sinker until he joined his mate Don in Gilderoy, working for Don’s family.
Celma, who had grown up in Powelltown, was walking with her friend Lomas when they saw Colin and Don cutting wood on the side of the road.
“I went home, at 13-years-old, and told mum I was going to marry him,” she said.
“He would come up on Friday nights on the Powelltown bus, when I was working in Gladysdale, and he would pick me up on the pushbike and dink me home the seven miles.”
Colin Darwall married Celma Gribble on 3 March 1951 at the Powelltown Church.
“I was a city boy but I couldn’t run fast enough coz the country girl caught me,” Colin said cheekily.
Celma said Colin told the party crowd “we only had one argument, and that started the day we were married”.
Their best friends Don and Lomas married several months later.
Colin and Celma lived in East Melbourne until Celma’s mother got sick and they moved back to Powelltown where Colin worked in the Forestry Commission and the Board of Works.
“It was nice to see a city boy come up and take these kinds of jobs,” said Celma.
After a stint in Morewell, they settled in Yarra Junction and have been there for 25 years, enjoying their time spent looking after three of their grandchildren.
“It’s good, I like the young ones – they boss granddad around,” he said.
“We’ve had many a good times – the only way you keep your marriage is by looking after each other.”