VAL Byrnes reflects with a smile at the moment her now husband of 70 years, Gerald, first asked for her hand in marriage.
“I was surprised when he came out with, ‘do you think we might be able to make a go of it?’,” she recalled.
“I did so we then went to Etheringtons Jewellers where I picked out the ring.”
While young Gerald’s question may have lacked a bit of romantic flair, it was one he has never regretted, and Val gave him the answer that would set them on a path for an amazing life together.
“It’s been pretty easy going,” Gerald said of the past 70 years.
Val added: “We get along really well and never argue that much.
“We are best friends and it’s just the way we are.”
The now 93 year old Gerald Byrnes first met Val, 90, when he visited Val’s grandfather’s property in the late 1940s, and was quick to ask her out to the Wentworth Show.
Val was just 18, and Gerald, 22, but having both grown up on the land, they had an immediate connection.
“We got engaged when I was 19 and married at 20,” Val said.
The couple were married at the Sacred Heart Church in Mildura on August 22, 1951, the same year that they purchased their property Cavan Station, located 50km from Pooncarie, where they still live, although the farm is now in the hands of their son.
They had four children in 1952, 1954, 1958, 1959. “Then we had a big break and had twins in 1969,” Val said.
“Gerald ran the property while I looked after the house and children.
“We wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, it’s lovely seeing the river from our backdoor.
“We are most likely the oldest ones still living on the river in our own property.”
The couple shared their advice for anyone getting married and the key for success.
“Be patient and talk to each other a lot,” Val said.
“Be very loving.”
Gerald added: “it’s about finding the right person.”
While restrictions saw the couple unable to leave home to celebrate their major milestone in August, they do plan to take a small trip away to celebrate when they can.
