NOELENE Jackson was 17 years old when she first met her husband Ken.
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"We met at Laanecoorie at a ball," she said. "He was sitting there with his leg open, very moody looking. I thought oh my God, I like you.
"I had an argument with another girl that I was going to marry him. I got a kiss that night and I went home and told my dad I met the man I'm going to marry."
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Mr Jackson was less excited about their first encounter.
"I just thought she was another girl another chasing me," he said. "I wasn't very worried about it at all. I said I would give her a ring on Thursday night and anyway, I didn't forget."
The couple married two years later on February 11, 1961 at St Paul's Anglican Church in Eddington.
Mrs Jackson said one strong memory from their wedding day was the sweltering heat.
"It was 106 degrees - very, very hot," she said. "We went to Maryborough - my sister and my future sister-in-law - to have our hair done.
"Of course it was so hot coming home in the car, and there was no air conditioning in those days, so we had the windows down.
"We really wasted our money getting our hair done because it blew everywhere."
Mr Jackson said his wife still looked beautiful on their special day, even after he arrived 20 minutes late to the ceremony.
"Everyone thought we eloped," he laughed.
Shortly after their marriage, the Jacksons moved to Bendigo. They rented for a couple of years before eventually finding their own home in Golden Square. They have lived there ever since.
In the 60 years since their wedding, the couple has had six children, 15 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.
Mrs Jackson said the longevity of their marriage came down to a simple message.
"Just don't run away as soon as you have an argument," she said. "Just stay and make it up.
"I couldn't run away because my dad would have kicked my bum and sent me back again. He was a great believer that if you make your bed, you lay in it.
"So I suppose I think that too. Too many people give up too easily. They don't try to work it out."
Mr Jackson said he felt privileged to have made it to 60 years with his wife.
"It's a bit of good luck," he said. "She's stuck with me pretty well."
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