NAMBUCCA Heads locals George and Fay Wilson celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary later this month.

First meeting in Revesby Heights, Sydney in 1959, Fay was working at the local grocers at the top of town when she noticed a young man who came in frequently to buy things he didn’t need.

“I noticed him coming in each day at morning tea,” said Fay.

“I always made sure I was at the front of the shop around that time so I could catch his eye.”

The man in question was George Wilson, who had also spotted Fay and taken a shine to her.

“I decided to ask her out and our first date was at the drive-in at Bass Hill,” said George.

“I was training horses with my father at that time, when we had a big win at the track, I used to flash the money in my wallet so she’d think I was flush.”

Fay and George continued to go steady, with the two marrying in 1961.

“We moved about a bit after that,” said George.

“I drove the trotters for a while and ran a pig farm in Leppington.

“We kept a couple of horses and cattle.

“Fay used to milk them every day and make her own cheese and butter.

“I used to drive the local 44 Door Saloon, which was a challenge back in those days when trucks didn’t have great suspension!”

Fay and George moved to Nambucca Heads with their five children in 1978, buying a plot of land where George built their family home.

They soon became well known around the community.

George, a jack of all trades, held down work locally as a truck driver, builder, labourer, fisherman and purveyor of a fine homebrew.

Fay was a stay at home mother, caring for her children, grandkids and many other local families.

George and Fay were also keen globetrotters, travelling around Australia and the world multiple times in the last 60 years, visiting the British Isles, Europe, India, the Americas and East Asia.

“We’ve had a good life,” said George, “full of honest work, adventure, friends and family”.

“We’re lucky to still live together at home.

“We’ve got five children, twelve grandkids and seven great grandchildren, many of which still live in the area and visit regularly for a cuppa on the balcony.”

George and Fay celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in Nambucca Heads on 28 October.