60 years married after chance meeting
The West Gippsland Uncle Bobs Club has extended a “big thank you” to residents who contributed to the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.
After many months of tireless work by volunteers, West Gippsland Uncle Bobs Club contributed $17,325 to the record breaking $18,043,251 raised for the children’s hospital.
Door knocks alone raised $3071 in Drouin, $876 at Lifestyle in Warragul and a further $3350 in other West Gippsland locations.
Volunteers collected $5249 outside supermarkets and McDonald’s in Drouin, $1351 for the Easter egg raffle in Warragul, and $403 at traffic lights in Warragul.
Appeal collection tins raised $2900 with a further $3193 collected in Drouin alone.
Volunteers held a sausage sizzle at Bunnings raising $696 whilst a Warragul Golf Day collected $450.
Fairview Village and Lifestyle each held Easter egg raffles, raising $45 and $52 respectively whilst the hospital laundry raised $130.
Other donations included $132 from Voyage Warragul, $248 from Jess Murphy estate, and $50 from a Coles jar by Jo and Brian Giblin.
Following the Good Friday Appeal, figures showed Warragul raised $11,343, Drouin $15,221, Trafalgar $21,876, Yarragon $25,051, Neerim South $3438, Poowong /Loch $15,000 and Bunyip $4396.
A chance meeting on a roadside has led Warragul residents Fay and Ray Knight to 60 years of marriage.
The couple kept their golden anniversary celebrations low-key on Thursday, April 12 with lunch, visitors, phone calls and flowers.
They first met when Ray was working at his dad’s garage in Warrigal Rd. Whilst out driving a car, Ray saw Fay “dinking” a friend on a bike.
“I stopped and got talking to them and that was the start,” recalls Ray.
As love blossomed, Ray used to work out of the front of the garage each morning to wave to Fay as she made her daily bus commute along Warrigal Rd to work.
Aged just 20 and 18, the couple married at Oakleigh Anglican Church with Rev. Chambers officiating on April 12, 1968.
The wedding reception was held in the backyard of Fay’s mother’s house.
Ray remembers having to travel to the other side of Melbourne to collect a big marquee the night prior. As a result, he missed a majority of his own buck’s night.
Fay and Ray moved to Yarragon onto a small farm just after getting married. They lived on the property for 15 years, Ray milking 20 to 30 cows and working at Petersville Milk Factory whilst Fay raised the couple’s five children.
Ray said the couple had no electricity for the first five years, using kerosene lamps, cooking on a wood stove and having no washing machine.
“Our grandchildren, when you tell them now, say it’s not true,” said Ray. “But the power lines didn’t come near us.”
They later purchased the freehold of a bakery at Yarragon. They extended the shop and created a three-bedroom unit where they lived and worked for three years.
The couple made the move to Warragul and have remained in their current house for more than 40 years.
Fay has also worked at the Gazette for more than 40 years.
The couple enjoy spending time together, walking six mornings per week and making regular trips to Johnsonville near Lakes Entrance.
Asked what advice they would give to newly married couples, Fay simply said “try to stay together”.
“You have your ups and downs but you get over it,” said Ray.
“I just know that when I get threatened, I need to quieten down,” he cheekily added.
The couple have five children Ken, Rhonda, James, Colin and Joanne, 12 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.