A couple recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on 8 March but had to cancel their celebrations thanks to a tropical cyclone named Alfred.
Greenbank’s Peter and Sandra Beerens had plans to celebrate amongst family and friends at their favourite Chinese banquet in Waterford until they felt it was too unsafe for everyone to get there.
“We always celebrate special occasions there, but when we saw the cyclone was making the rivers around us rise, we thought it was best to cancel,” Mr Beerens said.
“We still stayed at home and spent time together and it gave me an opportunity to repaint my statues, because we had to bring them in due to the cyclone.”
Mr and Mrs Beerens married when they were 18 years old and have been inseparable ever since.
Mrs Beerens said their marriage has been tested life’s up and downs.
“We were married and bought our first place, which was a tiny little flat,” she said.
“Peter had to sell his car to pay for the deposit and everything in our house was second hand because we couldn’t afford anything new.”
Their fondest memory happened when they celebrated Christmas in their new home.
“It might sound funny, but we actually saved up some money and bought ourselves a chicken for our Christmas dinner,” Mrs Beerens said.
“People laugh because a roast chook is only ten dollars, but back then we really struggled early on and this was something that we could celebrate at a magical time of year.”
They continued to scrape by, sometimes sorting through weevils in rice to make ends meet, but these struggles only drew them closer.
Their perseverance paid off, and they were eventually able to enjoy the fruits of their labour, buying a house and renovating it, themselves of course.
“We’ve been through a lot, but it all brought us closer together,” Mr Beerens said.
“We’ve never been afraid of hard work, and we’ve always made sure to show each other love and respect.”
The couple eventually had two sons and a daughter, which have gone on to give them grandkids and great grandkids.
“Our sons live in Canberra and Tasmania, and our daughter lives in Waterford, so we try and see her and the grandkids as much as possible,” Mrs Beerens said.
Despite the disruption to their anniversary, Mr and Mrs Beerens received a letter from Premier David Crisifulli congratulating them on their achievement, with a twist from a letter from King Charles.
“We got the Premiers letter which was fantastic but we were also waiting for the Kings letter,” Mr Beerens said.
“Funnily enough, they sent it to our old address from 30 years ago. So we’re chatting to our old neighbours to hopefully pick it up for us.”
As Mr and Mrs Beerens enjoy their quiet life, they offer some advice to other young couples who are making their way through marriage.
“Don’t go to bed angry and always settle your differences,” Mrs Beerens said.
“Work hard, love each other, and always talk about the problems you have. Because you can’t just push them aside”
As for their cancelled banquet, “We may not have had our big celebration, but we’ve still had a lifetime of memories,” Mr Beerens said.
“We have made some plans to travel down to Tasmania as well, so we might make that a part of our 60th wedding celebration. Just a couple months late.”
