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Once refused entry as migrants, Oscar and June Draper never gave up on their dream of living in Australia.
The couple, who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on 14 October, were initially rejected by Australian authorities after fleeing Burma’s military regime in 1964.
So they and their four children instead resettled in London. They lived there for 12 years and had another two kids.
When the children reached school-age, June found work at the Australian High Commission in London.
This led to the family being accepted into Australia under the skilled migration program.
They arrived in Melbourne a week before Christmas in 1976.
The next year, they moved into their Springvale home – their dwelling for the past 42 years.
June was employed by the Public Works Department, Oscar as a technician who worked with cables and early optic fibre projects for Telecom (later known as Telstra).
Recently the couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with their six children, many grandchildren and friends.
Two special friends joined the celebration. Beatrice Harris, who flew in from Sydney, and Philomena D’Castro, from Perth, were close family friends while in Burma.
They had attended the Draper’s wedding at St Mary’s Cathedral in Rangoon, Burma (now known as Yangon, Mayanmar) in 1959.
