Anglesea marriage reaches ‘platinum’ status

A MARRIAGE standing the test of time has reached its 70-year anniversary at Anglesea’s Cordelia Grove residence.

Dulcie and Douglas Anderson celebrated the 70th anniversary of their 1954 wedding yesterday (Wednesday, August 21).

The pair reflected on how they met at Sunday school in Moonee Ponds as teenagers and how they had spent the rest of their lives together since then.

Originally from Melbourne’s north-western suburbs, Mr and Mrs Anderson have lived a well-travelled life, spending several decades in Lebanon, Egypt and Syria due to their work commitments as Christian missionaries for the British Syrian Mission.

Mr Anderson left Australia in 1948 for Lebanon in 1948, while Ms Anderson travelled to Lebanon in 1952, with the pair becoming engaged as a result despite being based two hours away from one another for two years.

Douglas was based in Beirut teaching young men art and English at an all-boys school, Dulcie was in Tyre. Once married the pair moved to Baalbek and eventually had three children.

“I am just very blessed, we both are,” Mr Anderson said.

“The Lord has led us, kept us, and given me this wonderful lady.”

Ms Anderson then told a story about the pair living through the Lebanese Civil War.

“It was not the nicest time, there was bombing almost every night,” he said.

“But one night, there was a lot of bombing nearby, and when we woke up the next morning with both neighbouring houses had been flattened or demolished, but the compound we were in was not hit at all.

“After that, we knew we were blessed to be with one another.”

Douglas was 28 and Dulcie was 27 when they married, and upon reaching retirement age, they moved back to Australia, settling briefly in Melbourne before moving to the Surf Coast in 2007, calling the region home ever since.

Mr Anderson’s father was a master surveyor of the Great Ocean Road, so he visited the Surf Coast frequently as a child with the family buying a lot of land in Aireys Inlet.

Now based at the Cordelia Grove aged care facility in Anglesea, the couple praised the staff for their assistance over the years of their residence since 2022.

“We’d like to acknowledge the good care we get here, we’re well looked after, it’s marvellous,” Mr Anderson said.

“We’ve been here for a couple years now, but it’s absolutely splendid.”

When asked on the secret to a 70-year marriage, Ms Anderson had a simple yet comprehensive answer.

“Tolerance, you’re not always going to agree, but you don’t insist on your opinion or what you want, you negotiate, talk things over, compromise,” she said.

Both Douglas and Dulcie remain committed members of the Anglesea Baptist Church and previously volunteered at the Seaside Seconds Opportunity Shop.