Blue sapphire day for Frank and ‘Budgie’
Beryl and Frank Keenan came to New Zealand in the 1960s as Ten Pound Poms in an assisted immigration scheme.
Some 50 years later, they have just celebrated their 65th, or blue sapphire, wedding anniversary at Palmerston North’s Radius Peppertree rest home.
The couple paid £10 each for their fares, and their three children, Pauline, Ruth and John travelled for free. So, technically, did little brother Martin, ‘‘made in England, born in New Zealand’’.
Beryl is a bright 85-year-old now, and the home is generously decorated with her hand-crafted butterflies. Frank is 86 and needs a higher level of care, suffering from dementia, so the couple do not share a room. But Beryl visits him every day, and daughter Ruth Tipene said her dad’s face always lit up to see her.
The greetings card that Frank always insisted was as an essential part of any celebration was delivered to his wife on their anniversary day. It was addressed, as always, to ‘‘Budgie’’, a pet name he gave her because her maiden name was ‘‘Seed’’.
The family’s journey from Lancashire took them originally to Petone, where Frank worked at the woollen mills, then on to Manawatu¯ Knitting Mills in Palmerston North.
Tipene said her parents came to New Zealand for the children, in search of a better life, and judging from her own later visit back to Lancashire, they found it.
‘‘We really appreciate the sacrifices they made. Mum knew she would not see her own mother again, and she was pregnant when they left.’’
She said her parents had worked hard all their lives, with Beryl working night shifts as a nurse when the children were young, then studying accountancy at night school later, leading to work at the Ministry for Primary Industries and FMG.
And the couple kept fit. Frank has run marathons. Beryl was a runner from a young age, keeping up the activity with three children in a pram. They have done tai chi and yoga, taekwondo and orienteering.
And yes, Beryl said, they still love each other.