Ticket to romance

By Nicole Williams
A WEEKLY train ticket and the wrong jacket kicked off a romance lasting more than 60 years.
Berwick residents, Ian and Moreen Shaw celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on 23 December.
The couple met at the train station when Ian, who was working at the railway, asked for Moreen’s ticket – which was in her other jacket pocket.
“I always had a weekly ticket, but this day I had changed jacket and I didn’t have my ticket with me. Ian made me go buy a new ticket,” Moreen said. The couple hit it off straight away and their courtship was easy, attending weekly dances at the Dandenong Town Hall, going to the races and the Mayfair theatre in Dandenong.
After three years, Ian popped the question on Moreen’s 20th birthday and one year later they married in the Oakleigh Presbyterian Church on 23 December 1950.
Both grew up locally, Ian in Dandenong and Moreen in Noble Park, so after 12 months living in Hawthorn, the couple settled in Dandenong West to raise a family.
The family lived there for 30 years before moving to Endeavour Hills, and they now live in Berwick. Dedicated to their four children, Ian and Moreen said commitment to their family was one reason for their successful marriage.
“It’s a matter of give and take, and doing things with your family,” Moreen said.
They were on numerous committees for sporting clubs and were heavily involved in almost all activities the kids participated in.
But Ian’s reason for the success of the marriage was simple.
“Love one another. That’s the main thing,” Ian said.