AS far as they can remember, this is the first time Jim and Betty Priest’s wedding anniversary falls on Easter Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was on Easter Saturday, 62 years ago to the day, that they walked down the aisle at St Paul’s.
“We came out of the church and made our way through all the crowds down to the fountain,” Betty says.
“There were parades and rides, people everywhere, then we went down to the lake to have our photographs taken.
“Bendigo has changed a lot since then.”
Jim was a Wesley Hill boy, but moved to Bendigo to work in the Ordnance Factory (later ADI and now Thales).
There he met Betty, who worked in the canteen. When they married, on Easter Saturday 1953, Betty had to leave because married women weren’t allowed to work there, so she found a job in a supermarket.
“We had a flat with Mrs Dogood’s in Moore Street,” Jim says.
“In 1955 we built out the back here, then the new house (in Kangaroo Flat), and shifted in just after Joy, our first daughter, was born.
“There was nothing out here, just scrub and paddocks.”
Jim made the bricks for that house, which has gradually been built on to with various sheds at the back of their long block, as the family grew. Their children – Joy, Tracey, Douglas and Vicki – all live in Bendigo.
Now, when their 12 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren gather in the family home for a big event like Christmas, they set up tables in one of Jim’s big worksheds, moving aside his welding and woodworking tools to make room. Inside, every available surface is covered with 62 years of memorabilia and photos.
Betty admits she doesn’t like to throw things out, so moving house, and packing it all up, never seemed like a good option.
She laughs and says she can’t remember what happened yesterday, let alone trying to recall details of that Easter wedding day. Nevertheless, she does recall the big spread of cold meats and sponge cakes that the Baptist Church women supplied for their wedding reception.
Betty’s wedding dress still survives, in a cut-down version she recycled for another wedding, but Jim’s suit, which lay in a cupboard for many years, had to be disposed of – the moths got to it.
What are they planning to do to commemorate this anniversary? Jim will be spending time with his woodturners group, which is still an important part of his retirement, but on Saturday, they will head out to watch grand-daughter Demi play netball.
“I don’t walk so much now,” Jim says, rubbing his back, “but we’ve both got golf buggies so we still play golf.”