Betty and Arthur Smith remain inseparable and very much in love after 70 years of marriage.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On Wednesday, January 9 the Camden Haven Courier met Betty and Arthur at the Whiddon Group Laurieton.
Betty kindly tells her husband that he has icing cream on his shirt, as a result of enjoying a cake for morning tea.
“I’ve always looked after him and always will,” she said.
The couple’s wedding was on January 8, 1949 at Saint John’s Anglican Church in Taree.
Betty said it was love at first sight when she met Arthur at a dance at Coopernook.
“Not many can say that these days,” she said.
Arthur was 23-years-old and Betty was 19-years-old when they married.
Both Betty and Arthur were born on farms and spent their lives working on the land.
They bought a dairy farm in Kendall in 1966 and spent 24 years there.
Arthur said the farm was the best place to raise their five children Lynne, Russell, Corin, Janenne and Suzette.
The couple have 17 grandchildren and 30 great grandchildren.
They have never had any major arguments throughout their life together.
“We were too busy to argue,” Arthur said.
Arthur was in a very serious accident while gathering firewood with a tractor, when the couple worked on a farm at Purfleet.
Betty said he was taken to hospital in Sydney but was given a low chance of surviving.
Arthur spent eight months in hospital before returning home to his family.
Betty and Arthur said the key to a long marriage is to be kind to one another and share tasks.
“If I was busy out on the farm Arthur would help me by doing the washing up,” Betty said.
A celebration was at Whiddon Group Laurieton on Tuesday, January 8 to mark the couple’s 70 years of marriage.
Arthur and Betty were treated to a morning tea and a Chinese dinner.
They are the only married couple who currently live at Whiddon Group Laurieton.