The couple met as co-workers at a fibre box firm in London, where they both grew up.

Maureen reckons that while Ted grew on her, he felt a spark straight away – when asked whether he did fancy her from the start, Ted responds with a coy “No comment”.

“He used to get me in a lot of trouble with the foreman,” Maureen said.

She said he used to cut the cardboard and she would have to collect it, although every time she went to get it, it was never ready.

Ted would keep her there talking, she said, and then she would get into strife with the foreman, to whom Ted was a “blue-eyed boy” who could do no wrong.

Then, one day, Ted asked her out and they went to see a film starring Mario Lanza.

“All I remember is every time I turned around to see if he was enjoying the film, he was looking at me; he wasn’t seeing the film,” Maureen said.

Their courtship quickly gathered pace and they were spending nearly all their spare time together.

“We used to go out every night, I had to put my foot down and say I have to stay at home one night,” Maureen said.

Six weeks after they met, they were engaged, and they married the following year on August 2, 1952, when Maureen was 19 and Ted was 25.

Ted joked he knew Maureen was the one “when (he) was crazy,” but in reality, their bond was something he just knew.

The couple have eight children, thirteen grandchildren and one great-granddaughter, who have been the biggest joys to come from their marriage.

The family moved to Australia in the early 1960s and Maureen and Ted have lived in Adelaide and Melbourne, before settling in Bendigo.

Maureen said the success of their marriage had mostly boiled down to the fact that they loved one another.

“We could argue, but we’d talk things out, not keep a grudge or anything,” she said.

Loyalty has been another important factor, with Maureen saying that Ted never looked at another woman.

“I thought right, I’ve got a good one here, I’ll hang onto him,” she said with a smile.

The couple also did everything together, she said, which played a part too.

“Just be good to each other, care for each other, that’s about it, I think,” Maureen advised other couples looking to last the distance.

The couple will celebrate Valentines Day with a performance by a harpist at Mercy Health Bethlehem, where they both live, along with other residents.