70 years for Jack and Joyce
Mr and Mrs Holmes married on November 15, 1952
ALevin couple who are about to celebrate their platinum wedding anniversary after 70 years of marriage have always got along. Jack and Joyce Holmes were married at the St Andrews Catholic Church in Mako Mako Rd on November 15, 1952, in front of a large gathering of family and friends.
They married early in the afternoon, so those that had to milk cows later that afternoon wouldn’t miss out.
Joyce grew up in Ohau and Jack in Marton. They met in their late teens and hit it off.
The couple maintained close contact when, two years later, work took Jack to Auckland. He proposed to Joyce over the phone one night, and the air went quiet for a few seconds.
“Jack said, are you there? I said I’m thinking... I might be a little bit busy. But of course, I said yes,” she said.
“I was in love. I was as silly as a chook I was,” Jack said.
Horse racing has played a big part in their lives. Jack started his working life as an apprentice jockey, serving most of his apprenticeship for local trainer Jim Morton. He rode a winner too, at big odds, at Otaki.
The very first time Joyce went to watch Jack ride in a race he was involved in a horrific fall and was lucky to escape serious injury.
“He went underneath three or four horses and I found him in the emergency room. They gave him the Sunday off,” she said.
Rising weight, saw Jack give up riding and take a job on the railways. The couple lived in Manakau for three years, saving a deposit for their first house in Foxton.
“We’ve always been good savers. If we wanted something, whether it be a car or a holiday, we would work and save rather than borrow,” she said.
Work took the family to Tokomaru, and then Auckland again. Jack worked hard, often working multiple shifts and long stretches without a day off, before returning to Levin to take a job at the dye works factory.
The job enabled him to take up horse training part-time from stables at Mako Mako Rd near the Levin racecourse. He could exercise the horses before work and feed up later that night.
Jack soon had a few horses in the stable and winners started coming... Candy Lass, Pacific Air, and Saddleback... among others.
He convinced his boss Norm Aldridge to take a share in a young horse called Karu, which had shown promise as a stayer and ran third in the New Zealand St Leger at Trentham.
Jack received some sage advice that he should set a path for the Melbourne Cup with a horse like Karu.
It was 1978, and as a 7-year-old Karu was at his peak. So head to Melbourne he did - in August - and the plan came together when they qualified 22 of 24 in order of entry for the big race in early November.
“He thrived over there,” Jack said. Jack saddled up Karu, then took a spot next to Joyce in the Flemington grandstand not too far from the post, and they were seated nearby legendary Australian trainer Tommy Smith.
Jockey Warwick Robinson settled Karu last in a big field before starting a looping run before the home turn. Halfway down the long Flemington straight in front of a crowd of 99,000, it looked as though Karu might pull off a mighty victory.
Karu was overhauled late by eventual winner Argon and finished the closest of thirds. Tommy Smith turned to Jack and Joyce, who had been cheering their horse on, and said “good on you. You’re in the money”.
Karu returned to Melbourne the following year but had to be content with seventh place.
Jack lost his sight suddenly eight years ago, but still avidly follows horse racing on television. Joyce buys a racebook each week and relays the form to him, and gives him a running commentary of what’s happening as races unfold.
It’s a shared interest for them both - neither are punters and never have been. Jack is a purist who likes following racing and breeding as a sport.
They’ve always shared in each other’s interests — Joyce was a member of the Orchid Society — and they were both avid lawn bowlers up until a few years ago.
They had always saved and planned holidays but preferred holidaying in small-town New Zealand rather than the big cities.
“We get a lot of enjoyment out of the little places. You can be there and think, what a beautiful place,” she said.
So, what is the secret to a long and happy marriage? “We always talk about everything, about what we are going to do, and just enjoy each other’s company,” they said.
The Holmes’ have two daughters, Margaret and Susan, a granddaughter Natasha, and great-grandchildren Myah and Freya.
Now aged 92 and 91 years old respectively, Jack and Joyce plan to celebrate their achievement with a small gathering of family and friends. The late Queen Elizabeth sent a letter acknowledging their 60th and 65th wedding anniversaries, so they may well get a card soon from King Charles.