Pair's 70 years of wedded bliss

ALF Collins still remembers the minister saying he was a lucky man when marrying wife Grace 70 years ago.

“I agreed and the minister said all men are the lucky ones,” he said.

It was Easter Monday on March 25, 1940, when the couple wed in the Oxley Methodist Church in Brisbane.

They met when Mr Collins, who was living in Maclagan, went to stay on his brother’s farm in Wallumbilla where Mrs Collins’ family, the Hewitts, also had a farm.

Mrs Collins, 95, and Mr Collins, 96, have four children, nine grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

They lived on a dairy farm at Maclagan for many years before moving to Toowoomba in their later years.

“It was lovely to celebrate with our family last Saturday,” Mrs Collins said.

“We returned to our old home with 30 guests.”

They have both resided at Brodribb Retirement Village since 2008 where there will be a special morning tea for the couple on Thursday.

The Collins’ said their was no real reason for the success of their marriage, but diversonal therapist Sharon Tew said you would not find a more caring couple. “I hope my marriage will be as long,” she said.

1940 – The US gives Britain and France access to all American warplanes.

1960 – 1st guided missile launched from a nuclear powered submarine.

1970 – The Concorde made its first supersonic flight.

1990 – Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie announced his intention to retire.