In 1960, four weeks before they were set to say “I do”, Grace and Bill Malins’ minister said they weren’t a good match.
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But on Thursday, September 3, the Mooroopna couple celebrated 60 years of marriage — proving their minister very wrong.
In 1959, Grace and Bill were working on their respective family farms in Stanhope when they were both invited “down the road” for a gathering.
“One of my friends rang me up and asked me to go to their place,” Grace said.
“All these young farming men were there, having a meeting.
“And there Bill was.
“Looking back, I think it was arranged,” Grace said with a laugh.
Bill and Grace soon only had eyes for each other, and were engaged about six months later.
“We met in November 1959, engaged in the April, and of course married in September,” Grace said.
But the wedding day also fell on another important date — Bill's tennis grand final.
“When you are on a farm you have to just take the time you can get,” Bill said.
“We never gave it a thought; we just picked a date that suited us on the farm.
“And then my mates said, ‘do you not realise that’s the grand final day?’,” Bill said, laughing.
But the boys were no match for Grace, and Bill happily went through with the chosen date.
“I probably wasn’t very popular,” he said.
Bill and Grace said their vows in the Kyabram Presbyterian Church and danced the night away with about 80 of their closest family members and friends at Stanhope Memorial Hall.
The couple welcomed the first of four children, Peter, the following July.
“I was milking cows right up until he arrived,” Grace said.
The arrival of their second child, Anthony, was without drama, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Bill and Grace; their third and fourth children were born prematurely.
The Malinses were holidaying in Sydney when third child, Fiona, decided to arrive early.
“She was born that day and we discovered our blood groups weren’t compatible,” Grace said.
“We had to leave her there and they kept her up in Sydney, but we had to get home to the farm.
“I kept in correspondence with my sister who lived up there and it all worked out in the end, we got her home healthy.”
Bill and Grace's fourth child, Russell, was born 10 weeks early.
“He was only three pounds,” Bill said.
“Now he is the biggest one of the lot.”
Grace looked back on the troubling times and said they got through it together.
“You battle through these things,” Grace said.
“There’s a lot of worse things out there happening, I guess.
“I think we just took it in our stride.”
In 1975 the pair left the farm and moved to Mooroopna.
Bill worked in social security while Grace put her domestic skills to use at local hospitals.
When asked what made a good marriage, the couple spoke in harmony and said “we have always worked together”.
“You also have to be good pals and friends,” Grace said.
“You sort it out as you go.
“Bill would drop the kids off to school and then I would go to work and be home in time to pick them up.
“They were really good days, they really were,” Grace said.
Now with four adult children, three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren spread across the globe, Bill and Grace spend their days visiting their loved ones (when restrictions allow).
They also have a keen interest in lawn bowls and have travelled across the country for bowls tournaments.
A few years ago, the dynamite duo took out the Victorian mixed pairs bowl championships — a fond memory for the couple.
“I was only a reasonably new player at the time,” Grace said.
“It was the last bowl.
“So, I just shut my eyes, I turned away … I couldn’t look.
“But Bill came up with this nice fast bowl and, lo and behold, we won.
“The opposition were just devastated.
“I’ll never forget it, it was great.”
While they wait for restrictions to ease so they can visit their family and go on a cruise, Bill and Grace are happy keeping busy at home.
“I do the gardening and she picks the flowers,” Bill said.
The couple celebrated the diamond milestone of love with a special dinner and Skype calls to their family.
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