Hoppers Crossing husband-and-wife Keith and Belle Emmett have a special reason to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
February 14 will mark the couple’s 60th wedding anniversary.
They married at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Williamstown in 1959, the same place where Mrs Emmett’s parents tied the knot.
Long marriages are also something of a tradition in Mrs Emmett’s family, with both her parents and maternal grandparents reaching their 50th wedding anniversaries.
Mrs Emmett said she met her future husband when they both worked at the Newport Railway Workshops.
She would ride a bike to work, and Mr Emmett rode a motorcycle.
One day he followed her home along Champion Road in Williamstown, and asked her out on a date.
“I told him I couldn’t go on Friday night, because I was going to the pictures with my sisters,” she said.
Mr Emmett added: “We couldn’t go Saturday, as I was going to the speedway, so we went out the next Friday.”
Love soon bloomed, and after they married the pair lived in Altona North for 46 years. They moved to Hoppers Crossing about 12 years ago.
They have two children, Jenny and Brian, and five grandchildren.
During their time together, the couple also received a 30-year achievement award from the Classic Motorcycle Club of Victoria.
Mrs Emmett said the secret to a successful marriage was “working together”, while Mr Emmett said it was also important “to be honest with each other”.
