There was something about Michael that caught Mary’s attention and something about Mary that Michael must have liked as he asked her to a ball at Heathcote. 

Mary accepted, but not before asking her parents’ permission. She was only 17, after all. 

They began courting after this, “mainly going to dances at St Kilian’s Hall”. 

“We’d been talking about getting engaged but my father always said I was not to get engaged before I was 21, and not to even ask,” Mary says.

As soon as Mary turned 21, Michael wasted no time in popping the question. 

 The couple was married by Monsignor de Campo at the Sacred Heart Cathedral on February 6, 1965, and had their reception upstairs at Favaloro’s café.  A driving honeymoon to the Snowy Mountains followed, staying at different places on the way, finally ending up in Mildura. 

“When Michael was 18, his father died, so he took over the farm,” Mary says. “He hadn’t been anywhere.”

Mary says working side by side on the farm strengthened the bonds between them. But there was something else. Mary has the magic touch in the kitchen. 

“Everyone talks about Mary’s sponges, she’s won awards for them,” daughter Jenny says, “and she does a great Sunday roast.”

They were blessed with four children, Mark, Jenny, Andrew and Stephen, and now eight-soon-to-be-nine grandchildren. 

They’ve been to the Kimberleys, New Zealand and central Australia - to the Birdsville Races. 

“The only time the area has ever been flooded,” Mary says. “We saw one race and the rest were cancelled.

“Our tents got flooded and our clothes got wet. We wore the same clothes during the day that we slept in. The next day was beautiful so we hung them on fences to dry.” 

Mary loves to quilt, bake and garden. Her large garden is filled with irises, roses and vegetables. She also plays golf and minds the grandchildren. Michael likes to visit cattle and clearing sales “just to have a look”.

There will be an open house afternoon tea this Sunday from 2pm at 42 Mitchell Street, Axedale.