Noeline (nee McLeod) and Colin Stoddart got married 70 years ago today after meeting at one of Joe Brown’s dances at the Dunedin Town Hall.
Mrs Stoddart said Mr Stoddart saw her standing with her sisters and brother by a wall and approached her for a dance.
"He said ‘I’m going up there to ask that girl in the blue dress’ and they said ‘oh you want to be careful of her’ but he came down and he asked me for a dance."
Mrs Stoddart used to live in the Southern Cemetery where her father was a sexton. One Saturday Mr Stoddart was knocked out during a rugby match at Montecillo Park and ended up at her house.
"I remember Mum put him in the bath and gave him a bath.
"Mum and Dad said ‘where’d this joker come from?’.
"But we knew who each other was because we had been meeting at the town halls and that’s how we closed up a bit."
Not long after they were married, Mrs Stoddart said.
After a few more dances, a train trip to Queenstown and a camping trip to Timaru they seemed to "tick along together", Mr Stoddart said.
"There’s a lot of give and take in this world as far as I can see and the one thing you’ve got to do is be prepared to listen."
The couple will celebrate their anniversary next weekend with over 100 friends and family visiting from all over New Zealand and overseas.
