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Bethanie Residents Celebrate 60 Years of Marriage

on Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Bethanie, one of Western Australia’s most well known not-for-profit aged care and retirement living providers, will be joining Bethanie Waters residents Brian and Betty Morris as they celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this month.

The couple first met in July 1954 at their local beach in South Wales. Betty recalls it was a beautiful summers day and she was with her girlfriends and Brian was with his mates, after both groups had gone to church and met at the same café by the water.

At 20 years old, Brian struck up the courage to ask 17-year-old Betty out on a date and as she says, the rest is history. Brian and Betty were married on 10 November 1956 in Wesley Hall Methodist Church, Port Talbot, Glamorgan, Wales and honeymooned in London. Brian had just finished his Marine Pilot’s Apprenticeship but before he could become a pilot, he required further qualifications that meant going away for 18 months to sea.

After obtaining the position of Third Mate on a Caltex Tanker, Brian left to join Caltex Edinburgh and continued sailing on various tankers in the fleet until he gained a Master Mariner Certificate and became First Mate. During the seven years he was away at sea, he had periods of annual leave where he would return to Wales to visit Betty.

The couple had three children, David in 1957, Ian in 1961 and Louise in 1962. Betty says fortunately Brian was home for all of their births. Once Brian returned from sea, he became a Pilot for the Port of Briton Ferry in the Bristol Channel. Betty was kept busy as a stay-at-home mother to their three children and also spent time helping her brother run a nearby bed and breakfast.

In 1968, the Morris family decided to migrate to Western Australia. Brian liked Australia as he had spent a lot of his time at sea on Australia’s east coast. Shortly after arriving in Fremantle, the family settled in Rockingham, purchasing a house on Read Street. Brian secured a job with BP Refinery and worked there until he retired.

Pictured above: Brian & Betty in 1972

In May 1972, their ‘little Aussie’ was born, the couple’s fourth child who they named Lyndsay. Two years later, the remainder of the family became Australian Citizens at Rockingham Oval. Betty said the family went to a mobile kiosk just opposite the Rockingham Hotel where they had to fill out forms and pay $2 each for Brian and herself, no charge for the children. “It was a bargain back then, no ceremonies and our certificates came in the post,” said Betty.

Brian and Betty now have a large family of grandchildren, including six boys aged from 28 to 34 and a granddaughter named Lily who is three years old. The family sadly lost their eldest granddaughter Beth who passed away in 2001 at just 15 years old. They also tragically lost their son Ian while playing basketball at 39 years old, leaving behind three sons.

Betty says the couple have great memories of fishing and being out on the water. They purchased a boat and the children loved swimming and diving, where they spent many happy days camping on Garden Island and Rottnest. They then went on to built a yacht, which took a couple of years, and launched it from the Fremantle Sailing Club where they had a pen. After a few years they sold their yacht and bought a caravan, where they have travelled to many places across Australia through their Caravan Club.

They are also passionate about international travel having gone on a number of cruises and trips overseas. “One of our favourite trips was a 15-day safari in Kenya, right after spending three weeks touring the North and South islands of New Zealand,” said Betty.

After spending 26 years in Rockingham, Brian and Betty built a house in Secret Harbour where they spent a further 20 years before deciding to move into a Lifestyle Village at Bethanie Waters in Port Kennedy.

Brian and Betty say there are no secrets to a long, happy marriage. “Like everything you do, you have to work at it, but after sixty years were are still very much in love,” the couple said.

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