Best friends Bill and Anne Duiker from Narre Warren North will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this weekend. 26619 Picture: Meagan Rogers
By Kelly Yates
NARRE Warren North couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this weekend say they experienced love at first sight.
Bill and Anne Duiker will mark the special occasion on Saturday 7 February by attending mass at a Berwick church followed by dinner at the Cuckoo Restaurant with 120 of their family and friends.
Mrs Duiker said the Olinda restaurant was a special place for the couple, who describe themselves as being “best friends”, as they also celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary there.
The 67-year-old said she met her husband when she was 15 years of age.
“Bill had only been in Australia for a couple of days and was looking for a friend,” she said.
“My brother brought him to our house. It was love at first sight and we’ve been together ever since.”
The couple was married in Dandenong in 1959 surrounded by 30 of their family and friends.
Mrs Duiker said they enjoy travelling and love fishing and playing golf. “We fish anywhere we can,” she said.
“This year we’re planning a trip around Australia.”
Mr Duiker, 71, is a member of the Narre Warren Bowls Club.
Mrs Duiker believes the key to a successful marriage is to give and take.
“Getting married at a young age was wonderful because we got to build our lives together,” she said.
The couple have four daughters, Sally, Maryanne, Michelle and Sharon, and 13 grandchildren.
