“Frank worked as a fireman on the railways and I worked in a dry-cleaning shop in Traralgon,” Sylvia explains. “We met in Traralgon through my aunt and uncle who I was living with at the time.

The hiccup came in the form of an outing. “The four of us went to the pictures one day,” Sylvia says. “They were only on about three times a week and Frank and my uncle left the hall. I don’t know what happened, they just took off.”

Frank joined the army in October 1941 and was a driver in the infantry, seeing action in New Guinea.  He was discharged in January, 1946. Three years later their paths crossed. 

After leaving the railways in 1950, he and Sylvia returned to Bendigo (Frank’s home town) with their five-month-old son. They lived with Frank’s mother for a time before finding a rental property in King Street which they later bought. A move to Breen Street followed before Sylvia and Frank finally settled in Golden Square.

While Frank spent a lot time on the road as a truck driver Sylvia took care of the family: Desmond, Jeffrey, Terry and Susan. In between raising her brood, Sylvia was a blood donor for “a long time” and delivered meals on wheels for 37 years. She also enjoyed ten-pin bowling. 

Longtime supporters of the Golden Square Football Netball Club (Frank played for the under-21s in 1940 and in two premiership sides, the second one in 1945), Frank was made a life member in 1958. 

Not to be outdone, Sylvia celebrated her 80th birthday and the Bulldogs’ 2011 premiership win by having a GSFNC badge tattooed on her arm.

The couple has 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren and celebrated their anniversary with a family lunch at the Foundry Arms.-