Key to their success has been respect and friendship, Mr and Mrs Tempero say.
It was when Mr Tempero (89) travelled from Oamaru to the ''local hop'' in Waimate, Mrs Tempero's hometown, that romance blossomed.
''That's where everybody went on a Saturday night.''
Standing at the back of the hall, he spotted Mrs Tempero (nee Thomas).
''I saw this attractive young girl sitting there and asked her for a dance.''
Mrs Tempero looked up.
''I said no. I was there with my boyfriend.''
Mr Tempero still went up the next weekend to the regular dance.
''He must have thought it was worthwhile having another go,'' said Mrs Tempero (82), who worked at Farmers and the Savoy Tearooms in Waimate at the time.
In 1956, she moved to Oamaru for work and met up with Mr Tempero.
After dating for over a year, they became engaged and married in May 1957 at Waimate's St Paul's Methodist Church.
After her marriage, she worked at a retail store in Oamaru selling lace, gloves and stockings, before leaving to raise the couple's three children.
Mr Tempero worked his way up from being ''the lad'' at Robertson's Hardware to becoming the company manager. He spent the majority of his working life with the firm.
Highlights of the couple's life together included visiting one of their children in Sydney and surviving melanoma scares.
Melanomas were discovered on both of their faces in quick succession last year and early this year. The couple acted quickly and had them cut out.
The Temperos spent their entire married life in Oamaru and said what kept them there was the town's proximity to cities, its shopping and community.
''It was a good place to raise a family.''
The one piece of advice they agreed upon was that every married couple starting out should give each other space.
It was also important to be supportive of each other and have the occasional shared interest.
The Temperos have three grandchildren. They will celebrate their wedding anniversary in Oamaru with friends and family.
