Their wedding day wasn’t smooth sailing – but 60 years on, it’s fair to say the marriage of Bob and Jan Burnett has been a success.
When Bob and Jan tied the knot on February 23, 1957, a couple of mishaps threatened to ruin their perfect day.
For one, the hire car company forgot to send the cars to pick up Jan and her bridal party, so after some frantic calls, they were driven to the wedding in two black, unmarked taxis.
Then Bob nearly choked on confetti being thrown on the pair as they left the church.
“If you want anything to go wrong, come see us,” said Jan with a laugh.
The couple first locked eyes at church in Mount Beauty, causing Bob to chase after Jan.
“She wasn’t a bad-looking bit of fluff,” Bob said.
Jan added: “I’d been engaged before and broke it off, and I wasn’t going to get married [to anyone] – I wasn’t interested. But he was very persistent. I even went back to Adelaide for Christmas – and he came after me.”
The pair married after a short courtship and first daughter Lynda was born two years later, followed by second daughter, Shayne, in 1961.
The Burnetts spent most of their married life in Mount Beauty before moving to Wyndham Vale in 2011 to be close to their daughters.
The family celebrated the milestone with a party at the weekend.
