Theo and Robin Straker celebrate 70 years of marriage, community, creativity and family today. Inset: Robin Straker's shares his top ten list for what makes a good marriage. Photos / Catherine Sylvester.
Theo and Robin Straker celebrate 70 years of marriage, community, creativity and family today. Inset: Robin Straker's shares his top ten list for what makes a good marriage. Photos / Catherine Sylvester.
Robin and Theo Straker are still hitting life’s high notes seven decades after meeting at an opera production in London.
Theo’s family escaped Germany to England in 1938 as her father Alfred was Jewish. Robin recalls a house in his street in the UK being flattened by a bomb during the Battle of Britain and seeing British aircraft shooting down a German plane as he walked along the road.
Post-World War II, Robin began work for a high-end British department store after two years in the National Service. Working in a different department was aspiring young singer Theo, who had studied at the Guildhall School of Music. When both signed on to the company’s operatic society for a staging of The Beggar’s Opera, they got more than they’d planned on.
“I saw Theo as the leading lady and I had my eye on her,” says Robin, who turns 93 this month. “I really did admire her beautiful voice and she responded because she said she liked my twinkly eyes.”
The world has changed a lot since the pair married in a London registry office on June 12, 1954.
Ahead of their 70th wedding anniversary, Robin Straker shares his top ten list for what makes a good marriage.
At the time, the population of New Zealand was a little over two million, tuberculosis was still prevalent, and television broadcasting in Aotearoa was still six years away.
Through the “ups and downs” of life, Theo, now 91, says: “I don’t think we have highlights because we’ve been really privileged to have the sort of life we’ve had”.
Theo says supporting one another in all they do strengthens their relationship, with Robin adding it’s important to “help each other and respect each other’s ideas, even if you don’t agree.”
Ahead of their 70th wedding anniversary, Robin wrote down his top 10 tips for a happy marriage which included being respectful of each other’s needs, being prepared to compromise and buying a bunch of flowers every now and then.
Good neighbours
With six children, 14 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, including one lost at birth, the Strakers will be holding a large family get-together to celebrate their platinum anniversary, and a smaller celebration at home with neighbours.
“Everywhere we’ve lived, we’ve known our neighbours well, because we get involved with them,” Robin says.
“Sometimes you’ve got to do that extra bit to talk to them.”
Lifelong keepers of chickens, the Strakers still deliver eggs to their neighbours.
Creativity and community
Both enjoy creative pursuits, with Theo passionate about making costume jewellery, Robin spending hours in their garden and both recently taking up painting lessons from one of their daughters last year.
Robin jokes that they are the oldest homeschoolers, while Theo says “creativity is absolutely essential” to enjoying life.
After a career in interior design and dealing antiques, Robin retired at 76 and says it’s important to have a hobby - “a creative one preferably” - to keep busy with.
Robin and Theo Straker married in London on June 12, 1954, and celebrate their Platinum anniversary this month.
He’s also volunteered with various community organisations throughout his life.
“I just am made to love giving, and I’m always concerned about my fellow man,” Robin says.
Volunteering for St John in England, Robin stayed active with the organisation when the family moved to New Zealand in 1975, currently giving his time as a “Caring Caller”.
“It’s phoning elderly, lonely people in the evening and seeing if they need anything.”
After an enforced break due to Covid, Robin has started giving some of his time to local aged-care facility Hetherington House, where he reads poetry to residents and joins in activities.
“They particularly like the poetry because of my English accent.”
Robin says that recently, during a game of seated balloon volleyball where he was “dashing around” fetching stray balloons, the facility’s physiotherapist jokingly said to him: “You’re older than most of these people - calm down!”
‘Cheerful approach to life’
In 2014, Robin joined Waihi’s Gold Discovery Centre as a volunteer town host following seven years at the information centre.
The centre’s Eddie and Karen Morrow say Robin has been an amazing contributor to the business and community for a long time.
“He has enthusiastically shared his incredible knowledge of the town with our visitors from all over the world, right up till a couple of months ago when he felt it was finally time to retire.
“His wise and always cheerful approach to life shines through with his interactions with all people.
“Robin and Theo are amazing people, their sense of community and contribution has always been very apparent.
“We certainly feel privileged to know them both and to have had Robin as part of our team for such a long time.”
Catherine Sylvester is a multimedia journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has a background in feature writing, radio and television, and has taught media at a tertiary level.
