Sixty years, countess memories and a lifetime of changes. Jenny and Arthur Swinburne celebrated six decades of marriage in September, surrounded by family and friends.
But before there were six decades of memories, there was a first meeting.
Edens Landing couple Jenny and Arthur Swinburne met in 1962 on a blind date at a barbecue for the Victorian Institute for the Blind.
Jenny said she and a friend were running a barbecue to raise money and her friend brought Arthur along.
“She had a friend that lived next door to her, her neighbour, Arthur. And at the time I didn’t have a boyfriend, so she said ‘I’m going to invite Arthur to come along with us. Would you be happy with it?’
“I said, yeah, for sure. Well, the rest is history. So, at that point in time, we were very good friends, and we ended up marrying and 60 years later, we’re still really good friends,” Jenny said.
While their wedding day marked the beginning of their life together, it was only the first of countless memories they would make over the following 60 years.
Looking back, Jenny and Arthur said their September 10 wedding was a lovely day for everyone, and while their family and friends were excited for them to get married, everyone was also equally excited as it was the same day as the football finals.
“We were from Victoria originally… from a place called Sassafras. And that’s where we were married.”
“We had our wedding in a little Presbyterian church. And we just went there and recently visited. We found out that someone has bought it and they’re living in it.
“So, we took our photos and got out,” Jenny said.
Six decades together have also meant witnessing plenty of changes, both in their own lives and in the world around them.
“The world has changed, attitudes changed, everything’s changed.”
“We seemed to have managed to overcome it all simply because we’re just jolly good friends and we truly love each other,” Jenny said.
Despite all the changes over the years, one thing remained familiar: having the people they love around them.
The couple celebrated their milestone with family and friends on 12 September at the Albert River Winery with cupcakes from Beenleigh’s Roccels Café. Jenny expressed her gratitude to owner Rochelle for providing them with a tailor-made experience down to the cupcake stand which reflected their lifestyle.
Arthur said: “[There were] 25 guests there. The weather was beautiful. The people who run the winery were absolutely great!”
“And the company of the people that we met and made friends with here over 45 years… We told everybody there that we met new friends but there was three people at our wedding in 1966.
“That was Jenny, me and our niece Cheryl. It was a lovely day,” he said.
The couple thought about doing a vow renewal, but decided that in the midst of change, they wanted to do something their own way.
Jenny said: “I got up and thanked everybody for coming and then I said to them, ‘Arthur and I have discussed a retelling of our vows’.
“But, what I did was I stood up in front of everybody and I said, ‘in front of all you people here, I would just like to declare that I really, truly love Arthur, and I’m going to stay with him until the end.’”
After 60 years together, Jenny and Arthur have had plenty of time to learn what makes marriage last.
Their advice to younger couples is simple: “Just be really good friends. And trust is the biggest thing that holds things together… and then be able to talk, communication is so important,” Jenny said.
Arthur said: “I married a girl who I considered a very good friend. We had a lot in common. That friendship has changed in a different form of friendship.
“My respect has grown stronger, as the years have gone by, for what Jenny has brought to our marriage.
“Her support for me in my career and her support for our two children; for our son, Paul and our daughter Danielle. She’s always been there for us all.
“And that love has just got stronger, and it’s a different type of love, it’s a more profound love because she’s a beautiful person and a great cook too,” Arthur said.
Over the past 60 years, it wasn’t just Jenny’s company that won Arthur over, her cooking played a part too, with Arthur stating she cooks a great roast.
“[Her best meal is] a good old fashioned roast lamb with four or five veggies!” he said.
Jenny is part of the Queensland Country Women’s Association (QCWA) Country Kitchens program.
She feels that good food is the perfect way to show your love and appreciation for those around you.
“Cooking, to me, is love… if you can cook something really nice and present it to them and sit down with them and eat it. It’s love,” she said.
“We find love in all sorts of ways. Love isn’t just putting your arms around each other and giving hugs. A hug a day keeps the blues away as far as I’m concerned.
“But it’s in other ways that make more meaning to the word love,” Jenny said.
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