The couple’s lives have been filled with love, family and friends. Their 60^th wedding anniversary celebration, last Saturday, was no exception. It was a shared-event, just like their wedding was on January 28,1956.

In what was a more regular occurrence last century than it is today Max and Colleen had a combined wedding with Colleen’s sister Joan and her fiance John Stone.

A little over a year before that special day, the Smith’s blossoming romance was put to the test.

They met on a bus trip to a youth camp. He was working as a minister at a church in Port Piri, she lived in Inverall.

“When we stopped for a break on the way to the youth camp I spied this lady and in retrospect, that was it for me,” Mr Smith said.

“I don’t know what it was about her but I sidled up to her and had a chat.”

When Mrs Smith casts her mind back to that day she remembers she was “very pleased this gentleman had come over and was talking to her.”

The pair only had a few days to get to know each other at the camp before they were to part company for a year.

They didn’t know it then, but they had planted the seeds of something that was about to grow for a lifetime.

Mr Smith went back to Port Pirie, where he still had 12 months remaining as minister of the church.

Despite being separated geographically he was not about to let distance interfere with his new-found love.

The smitten Mr Smith wrote a letter to her every day for a year.

“Colleen didn’t write every day, but most days. We were both always waiting for the post man to arrive,” Mr smith said.

“Later in the year Colleen wrote me her sister Joan was going to get married, so I thought I’d better get in on that caper,” Mr Smith said.

“I had to get the okay from her parents before I proposed.

“Her parents took a gamble on me because I’d only spoken to them once. I phoned them and they said yes.” 

Mrs Smith can still remember feeling scared to leave the bridal car on her wedding day.

“My sister and I were pretty well known in Inverell. We used to sing at functions,” she said.

“When we arrived at the church it was the biggest crowd I’d ever seen.

“I don’t know when there had been a double wedding there before that. 

“It was daunting, most of the town turned up for it, or it seemed like that.

In 1960 the Smiths moved to Nowra where they raised a family of  three sons, Errol, Greg and Tim and two daughters Debra and Meredith. They now have 16 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

As Valentines Day draws near and after 60 years of marriage, Mr Smith said the secret to lasting love could be summed up with one word.

“I saw a man on TV not long ago give a one word answer to that question,” Mr Smith said.

“That word applies to us. “Now I’ve forgotten what he said that word was,” he said with a chuckling.

“I’ve been pondering it for some time though. Thinking about love and all sorts of other words that would suit, but I think the best word is appreciation.

“We have always appreciated each other.

“You’ve got to work at it and there’s plenty of give and take, but in a good relationship you have to give more than you take,” he said.

“I often hear young people talking of downloading an App. I’m not very good at that sort of thing, but I reckon couples ought to download the appreciation App. In looking back I think we did that subconsciously all those years ago,” Mr Smith said.​