By Cam Lucadou-Wells
The earth certainly moved for Norman and Joyce Rose on their 65th wedding anniversary.
On the day of the milestone on 22 September, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake rattled their Noble Park home.
The driveway gates clattered wildly in a “hell of a racket” while the house shook under their feet, Mr Rose said.
For most of Mr and Mrs Rose’s married life, they’ve lived at the same house in David Street.
It’s been the place for raising four children as well as their seven grandkids.
Mr Rose said they’d never contemplated moving.
“A lot of people get rid of their houses. But I’ve done a lot of work to this house.”
Mr Rose, now 91, and Mrs Rose, 89, met as work colleagues at a Kodak factory in Abbotsford in the early 1950’s.
The Horsham-raised Mr Rose had just moved to Melbourne as a 20-year-old.
“My first impression was she was the pick of the bunch,” Mr Rose says.
“I was a country boy and she had that quiet, country style. I don’t know what she saw in me but we got on well.”
They dated with trips to the theatre, watching Hollywood films such as All About Eve starring Bette Davis.
The wedding was at St John’s Catholic Church in East Melbourne in 1956, followed by a reception at a nearby pub.
That night, the newly-weds drove in a Vauxhall for a two-night honeymoon at a hotel in Mt Donna Buang in Warburton.
That was followed by a visit to Mr Rose’s parents in Horsham.
Their first abode was a rented room in Hawthorn, then at an aunt’s place in Box Hill.
While at work at General Motors Holden at Fishermen’s Bend, a colleague told Mr Rose of a house and land offer in Noble Park for £3100.
The couple raised a £300 deposit for their current home – one of 44 homes being built in the street, Mr Rose says.
Just prior to Christmas 1959, a pregnant Mrs Rose was forced to leave work.
She reared their kids Wayne, Mark, Julie and Malcolm at home while Mr Rose shifted work to at a fridge and air-con manufacturer in Dandenong.
Later she briefly worked at a Hills Hoist clothes-line factory. She left due to being unable to take school holidays off.
Decades on, when Mr Rose retired, the couple started caravanning to St George in outback Queensland annually for 14 years.
They also took away the grandkids for caravan holidays.
The Roses still live fairly independently but for visiting home carers and relatives.
Their eldest son Wayne who is on a disability pension also lives with them.
Despite losing an eye in an accident, Mr Rose drives to Parkmore shopping centre in a 1994 Ford Falcon station wagon.
“I’m happy with it. I know the car and it has good sightlines out of it.”
Meanwhile, Mrs Rose, who suffers dementia, “sleeps a bit during the day”.
Mr Rose cooks for the couple, having not been impressed with Meals on Wheels’ offerings.
“Otherwise I can sit around and think about things in the past,” he says.
Reflecting on the marriage, Mr Rose said they “stuck together”.
“You’ve both got to put up with things – and things go wrong. But you’ve got to stick at it.”
