When George Bishop was convinced by a friend to catch the bus into Sydney’s inner suburbs for a game of cricket in the 1940’s, the last thing he expected was to find the love of his life.
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“I used to go and catch the bus into Sydney and another guy used to come in travelling with me and he played cricket and he encouraged me to go into this little suburb and play cricket for their cricket team,” George said.
“And guess who was the scorer?”
The scorer was a young lady by the name of Eunice, who found herself on that field that fateful day thanks to her brothers.
“I had six brothers and most of them played cricket,” she said.
Decades and a move to Cowra later, the couple, who are in their 90’s, celebrated 70 years of marriage with friends on April 19 at the Hydro Majestic in the Blue Mountains, including Eunice’s bridesmaid Betty Brown. Despite his memory being a bit rusty, George said the pair courted each other for a couple of years before tying the knot.
“We started going out socially together. Back in those days... we would go to the dance and we would walk home after it,” he said.
“We had been together for a couple of years and ended up married… or did you grab me quicker than that? I just wore on her slowly I think,” George joked.
Eunice said their wedding was both a friends and family affair.
“We were married on the 19th of April, 1947 at St Auburn’s Church in Epping,” she said.
“It was in the afternoon sometime… it was about 4 o’clock.
“We had a big crowd there, down in Sydney,” George said.
The pair spent their honeymoon on the NSW Central Coast before returning to their poultry farm outside of Sydney. The couple moved to Cowra in 1950 after Eunice’s father purchased a poultry farm in the region.
“When he bought this place he encouraged us to sell up and move out here, we’ve been here ever since,” George said.
While working on the farm, Eunice became a keen golfer and has been in Cowra's Golf Hall of Fame for a number of years. After all that time, it seems contentment and an unfailing sense of humour are the secrets to a long and loving marriage.
“No, I’m pretty placid,” George said.
“I think my placid nature helped a lot,” Eunice replied.