By Brendan Rees
Narre Warren’s Hermanus and Elisabeth Frieling are celebrating their golden sixtieth wedding anniversary.
The couple are originally from Holland where they married at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Nijmegen on the 19 July, 1958.
Mrs Frieling said she had a scare days before her wedding day when she was admitted to hospital with an appendix infection. Fortunately, she was discharged days before their wedding.
However she added: “The Thursday after our wedding I ended up in hospital for the operation.”
Mr and Mrs Frieling moved to Sydney on the 18 August, 1958. “We stayed a couple days at our friends place and then we came to Melbourne,” Mrs Frieling said.
They are lifetime auxiliary members at Avondrust Aged Care facility at Carrum Downs and have been active members of the Dutch community, volunteering and always lending a helping hand when needed.
Mr Frieling also served as a marine for two years with the Dutch army in the 1950s.
Mrs Frieling said family was most important to their marriage. They had three children (Aleida, Jennifer and Robert), three grandchildren (Deon, Carla and Jaqueline) and three great-grandchildren (Tarant, Lennie, and Rees).
“We’ve got one on the way that will be born in January,” she said.
Mrs Frieling said “We have our ups and downs; every marriage does, if they say they had a perfect marriage people are lying.”
The couple celebrated the milestone at Hampton Park Tavern with family on Sunday 15 July.
They had the extra thrill of receiving letters from the Queen, the Governor-General, the Federal Member for Holt Anthony Byrne and the Prime Minister to mark their anniversary.
The couple will celebrate with friends at their home on their anniversary day.
Eating healthy was the key to living well, said Mrs Frieling. “A little bit of alcohol once in a while but not very much, just on special occasions.”
