Sixty years whiz by for happy pair

A photo of the original wedding party of Trevor's brother Lyle (left), Trevor's sister Fay, Trevor, Betty, Betty's sister Joan, and best man Colin, taken on April 7, 1956 at Bachelor's Studio in Emmerson St, Napier.

Not much has changed in 60 years for Trevor and Betty Hellyer, who celebrated their Diamond anniversary on Friday.

The occasion was celebrated by the couple's original wedding party, all six of whom still live in the region and are still "reasonably healthy".

60 years on, the group of Colin, Lyle, Trevor, Betty, Joan and Fay came together again to celebrate the milestone at Off the Track restaurant.

On reaching the milestone, Betty said it was unreal.

"I can't believe 60 years has gone by, it seems like we met yesterday."

They met at Betty's 19th birthday party, but the shy pair didn't start seeing each other until Trevor got his sister to ask Betty out for him.

They were married 18 months later at a Napier church, which Betty said was still a highlight of their marriage. "We had to get married at 5pm because Trevor and his best man Colin had a rugby match to play, they couldn't let the team down."

For half their marriage, the couple have also run Wonderworm - their Te Aute worm farm together.

"It's winding down now," Betty said. "Trevor was always a hard worker, he got it started and then it just kept going.

"We worked together most of the time, it never bothered us.

"We've met so many interesting people over the years, and had a lot of fun."

For almost as long as they have been married, the couple have also had a "really good group" of 12 friends. "We went out dancing every Saturday and sometimes every Friday," Betty said. "When the good bands started to disappear we had pot luck dinners, and barbecues with all our children."

When asked if there was a secret to their marriage, Betty said they had been pretty lucky.

"We hit it off, and then found something we both enjoyed, and we're happy in each others company. We've never had time to get bored."