Friday marks the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary, as well as about 55 years since they first met on Tathra Beach.

The then-15-year-old Norma was walking down the beach with a friend when she met the 17-year-old Peter.

“The first words he ever said to me were ‘move over and let me sit on your towel’,” Norma said.

The Bega girl was holidaying at the beach with her family, and Peter’s parents had also come down for the summer holidays from their home in Cooma.

Their courtship lasted a few years and they were married on Easter Saturday, April 17, 1965, by Reverend TC Whiting at the Church of England, Bega. 

“I certainly wouldn’t change a thing,” Norma said of their years together. 

“I think commitment, respect, and not taking each other for granted are the most important things.

“I often say to people that you can be at home in the same house and not speak to each other all day because it’s comfortable.”

Peter said of marriage, “you’ve got to be pretty committed to each other in the first place”. 

“You see a lot of changes in 50 years,” he said.

“Your life is what you make of it as well.” 

When they met, Peter had been completing a motor mechanic apprenticeship, and after their wedding they spent a few months in Bega before moving to Cooma where Peter worked in the motor dealership and Norma was employed with the Snowy Mountains Authority.

The couple lived in Eden and Tathra before settling in Bega, where they have resided in the same house for 40 years.

Peter has worked with heavy earth moving equipment for 30 years, starting with Mumbulla Shire Council and continuing when it amalgamated into Bega Valley Shire Council. 

The Smiths have one son, Corey, who lives in the Valley, and two grandchildren.

Nowadays Peter and Norma are both retired - he is a Lions Club member and plays golf three days a week while she is a VIEW Club member and enjoys line dancing.

They will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary with a quiet gathering of family and friends on Friday.