Henry Meskauskas was a 17-year-old working on the floor at the old Tomago Courtaulds factory when he first set eyes on his future wife Carolina.
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“I saw this young lady and wondered, ‘who’s that?’” Henry happily recalled at his and Carolina’s Rutherford home last week.
The couple celebrated 50 years of marriage, their golden anniversary, on Saturday.
It came 52 years after that first workplace meeting.
“I’d seen him before with his swimming,” said Carolina, recalling Henry’s time as a former Australian butterfly champion.
“I thought he was a good sort,” she laughed.
“She chased me around everywhere,” Henry added with a smile.
“I asked her if she wanted to go for a surf, and that’s how it all started.”
That was in 1966.
Early dates were spent at the beach swimming and surfing, with the pair sharing a love for anything water-related.
Their relationship quickly progressed and they wed in 1968, when Henry was aged 20 and Carolina aged 21.
Their marriage quickly led to a burgeoning family, with three children - Jason, Lisa and Mark.
Retirement for the duo has included helping raise their ever-growing mob of nine grandchildren (they expect their first great-grandchild in April), while Henry has balanced it with various community positions including 27 years as a Maitland City Councillor.
“I don’t think he knows how to retire,” Carolina joked.
The pair celebrated their 50th anniversary with a boat cruise to New Caledonia which included a crew of 20 family members earlier this year, while Saturday was commemorated with a quiet dinner out.
After racking up a half-century of marriage, the duo are well-positioned to offer up advice on sticking together.
“We have our ups and downs, it’s not always smooth sailing,” Carolina said.
“We’ve always worked our way through it.”
“You don’t throw in the towel when it gets tough,” Henry said.
“At the end of the day, it’s a commitment to staying together.”