When Garden Suburb's Beryl and Kevin Aurelius married back in 1950, they had next to nothing.
Kevin was in between jobs at the time of their wedding and immediately afterwards, Beryl lost her job as married women were not allowed to work in those days.
"We had no money," Kevin said. "We had to work for everything we have."
But seven decades later, they believe this tough start laid the foundation for working through everything in their marriage together. The pair will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary on Wednesday.
Kevin, 91, and Beryl, 89, are still going strong in other aspects of their lives too.
They still live in their own home, with Kevin, a former fireman, maintaining the property himself, playing lawn bowls twice a week and walking 3.5 kilometres each day.
As well as enjoying gardening, cooking and baking, Beryl is currently putting her craft skills into use by sewing face masks. Kevin said she has also been a great labourer for him working on their house over the years.
"I'm very fortunate," he says.
The Aureliuses are avid rugby league fans. Both were involved in Charlestown Junior Rugby League as their three sons played for the club in the 1960s. Their granddaughter Michelle is also married to Cronulla Sharks coach John Morris. Even now, Kevin and Beryl say one of their favourite things to do is watch the NRL together.
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They say their secret to a lasting marriage is never remaining upset after a disagreement and talking things through.
"We have our arguments - no two people think the same about everything," Kevin said.
"But we find lots of things we like together too."
The couple said the platinum anniversary felt like just another day after the amount of anniversaries they've had already.
"It's amazing we've got this far," Beryl said with a laugh.
They said one of the highlights of their marriage was welcoming their first granddaughter, with the pair excited about a baby girl in the family after having three sons and no daughters. They now have six granddaughters and eight great-grandchildren.
While they won't be able to spend their anniversary with family due to COVID-19, Beryl said she'll be happy with one small treat for the day.
"All I want for tomorrow is to not have to cook dinner," she said.
