Sixty years on from a cold August night, Mervyn and Shirley Yates’ love continues to burn bright.

The couple married on Monday, August 16, 1965 at the Inglewood Church of England, having met three months earlier in nearby Wedderburn.

Merv, a surveyor, checked into the Royal Hotel, where Shirley sat behind the desk.

“We were mapping Victoria and I happened to stop at the hotel,” he said.

“I met Shirl, and from there ...”

“... We got married,” Shirley said.

Merv’s job meant the couple had to marry after he finished work.

“I worked during the day and I couldn’t get it off,” he said.

Twelve months later, they welcomed the first of their four children, Shane, followed by Leonie, Murray and Debbie.

Nowadays, the family includes nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild, with another on the way.

Some of them are close to home around Lockington and Kyabram, while others are in Queensland.

The family relocated from Wedderburn first to the Swan Hill area, before eventually settling in Rochester 37 years ago.

“I was manager at the Swan Hill Irrigators’ research farm for something like 11 years,” Merv said.

“Then we (came) down here to share farm.”

While calling Rochester home, the family enjoyed trips on its boat, exploring the many waterways in the region.

“We had an 18-foot cruiser and we used to take her up to the Murray, Lake Waranga,” Merv said.

“We went from Torrumbarry right through to Barmah on the boat.

“We used to spend a lot of time up the Murray.”

While Merv tried his hand at bringing the boat into the Campaspe, it was his one and only time.

“I did it the once,” he said.

“I got to the bridge, I couldn’t get under the bridge at Ogilvie Ave.

“I had to turn around and go back, and I swore I’d never go up there again ... that was in the floods.”

For decades, Shirl has experienced first-hand Merv’s sense of adventure and silliness.

“I can remember when I was taking horses in and Shirl never rode a horse,” Merv said.

“I just stuck her on my horse.

“She didn’t like it, but she did, she rode the horse.”

Looking back on their memories together, the love Shirl and Merv have for one another remains as strong as the day they said ‘I do’.

Their friend Jenny Ingram believes they are the most in-love couple she has ever known.

“We kiss each other at night,” Shirl said.

“Yes, we are (the most in love couple).”

Merv feels that their communication and conflict resolution skills have helped them go the distance.

“We’ve been able to work together and work things out,” he said.

“If we have an argument, we forgot about it in five minutes.

“We wonder why we had the arguments.”

The couple’s advice for a lasting, loving marriage is simple.

“Give and take ... don’t hold a grudge,” Merv said.

“When I was on the research farm, I’d have to go to meetings and she’d do the dairy for me and do the milking while I was away, which she could handle.

“Just work together.”

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Monday, 15th June 2026

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