YARRA JUNCTION husband and wife team Frank and Dorothy Cole believe marriage is like a good bottle of wine it just gets better with age.
The couple, who were married on Saturday, 28 August 1937 at St Mary’s Church in Warburton, celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary last weekend.
Frank, 89, and Dorothy, 85, celebrated the occasion with a bottle of Yarra Valley Pinot Noir Chardonnay at their home in Yarra Junction where they have lived for the past 42 years.
The Coles, who have six children, 13 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren, have vivid memories of their first meeting at a dance in Wesburn almost 70 years ago.
“It was November 1936 and Frank’s brother and my sister were already going out together and they introduced us,” Dorothy said.
“The four of us went to a dance on Brittania Creek Road and at the end of the night Frank asked me for a kiss.” Frank said he remembers the evening well.
“It was love at first sight,” he said.
“I thought she was very nice and it just kept on going from there.”
Dorothy said the couple’s wedding day 10 months later was full of laughter and embarrassing moments.
“It was a funny ceremony. Frank stubbed his toe on one of the church pews and when he put the ring on my finger it was so big it slid right off,” she said.
The couple, who lived in Three Bridges and McMahons Creek before settling in Yarra Junction in the early 1960s, said their marriage has been full of music and dancing.
“We both love dancing and music and up until recently we went out regularly to social dances,” Dorothy said.
Frank, who worked in sawmills in the area and on the construction of the Upper Yarra Dam, was part of a local band.
“My three brothers and I were known as the Cole Orchestra and we played at dances and hotels across the district throughout the 1930s and 40s. As a result, Dorothy and I were a very social couple.”
The couple believe a few simple principles have allowed their marriage to survive seven decades.
“Throughout your married life you do have arguments but it is lovely making up,” Dorothy said.
“It is important to work together and discuss things, and it is important to remain interested in what each other does.”
