Milestone 70th wedding anniversary celebrated by Albany couple Shirley and Terry Arundel

An Albany couple who have lived through many challenges, including raising children in a house with no electricity or running water, says after 70 years of marriage they are still deeply in love. Shirley and Terry Arundel celebrated their milestone 70th wedding anniversary last Friday. The couple were married on March 18, 1952, when both were in their 20s. Mrs Arundel, the youngest of 13 children, grew up in Dudinin and Mr Arundel came from Harrismith. Now 90 and 92 respectively, they still clearly remember their wedding day, which Mrs Arundel described as “a bit different from wedding days of today”. They were married at the Narrogin Anglican church, followed by a reception on the tennis court at a friend’s house. Mrs Arundel wore a ballerina-length wedding dress and chose flowers for her hair, instead of the traditional veil. In the first years of their marriage, they lived on Mr Arundel’s parents’ farm, before they were able to buy the adjoining property for themselves where they farmed sheep and wheat for many years. There they raised their four children — Jen, Sue, Jack and Kim — in a house with no running water, fridge or electricity. Mrs Arundel recalled the amount of hard work that would go into running their household of six. “I still can’t work out how the clothes could have possibly got clean by putting them in the copper pot with boiling water and poking them with a stick,” she said. The Arundels now have nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren and moved from the Wheatbelt to Albany 40 years ago. To celebrate their platinum anniversary, a dozen of their friends and family members gathered at their daughter’s house for a lunch of Chinese takeaway and “a few wines”, according to Mr Arundel. It was a low-key celebration for such a big occasion, but “just the way we wanted it”, as Mrs Arundel said. The understated celebration reflected the couple’s thoughts on their milestone. “It’s a long time to look at each other across the table, isn’t it?” Mrs Arundel said. But as to there being a secret to a long and happy marriage, the couple said there wasn’t one — although they said they had never had a fight. “We might have disagreements that we get over, but we’ve never had a big argument or a fight,” Mrs Arundel said. “But it gets very frustrating, at times, when he doesn’t retaliate.” The Arundels hope to celebrate their 80-year anniversary in 10 years time. “You never know,” Mr Arundel said. “Once you get to 70 years, and in your 90s, you don’t know from day to day, you just hope for the best. “And God willing, we’ll be there. “We’ll take it one year at a time.”