Celebrating the Yendles

But this diamond is special. It’s the diamond anniversary of Shepparton’s Bill and Valda Yendle.

They have been together for 75 years, but before that, both grew up in Port Melbourne and attended the same school.

At the age of 13, Bill finished school as the dux but was too young to join the workforce.

However, the youth club he belonged to sponsored him to attend Melbourne Tech.

After receiving his qualification, he did an apprenticeship in boiler making.

Valda finished school in Year 8 and joined the workforce at 14.

She worked in printing and publication in Port Melbourne.

The couple met on a bus on a Sunday afternoon picnic outing to Ferntree Gully.

Bill said he was smitten with Valda from the beginning and began “courting” her.

It wasn’t until then that they discovered they had lived only two blocks apart.

Bill was 19, and Valda was 16, and after years of courting, Valda eventually pointed the finger at Bill and told him that if he didn’t marry her before she turned 21, he could “nick off”.

He said he was up to the challenge, and one week before that fateful birthday, he proposed.

“Her birthday is on April Fools’ Day and our anniversary is one week before, so I’ve never forgotten either,” Bill said.

Bill and Valda married on March 25, 1949, at Wesley Church in Lonsdale St Melbourne, before honeymooning at Marysville.

The couple had 57 pounds to their name when they decided to buy their first home, borrowing the additional 300 pounds needed.

Valda gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Darrel, in February 1950.

Bill was a dedicated Victorian Country Football League umpire and did 25 seasons travelling all over Victoria.

On May 26, 2008, Bill was inducted into the AFL Umpires Association Hall of Fame.

Bill and Valda spent 30 years living in Yarrawonga before moving to Lifestyle Communities Shepparton in August 2023.

Their advice to any young couples of today was to enjoy experiences together.

“Make a bucket list and do it while you’re young and with someone you love,” Bill said.

On Monday, March 25, the couple celebrated at the Lifestyle clubhouse, sharing stories, eating cake and enjoying a performance from the community’s choir.