RATIONING meant Len and Cecilia Gerke had to use more than petrol to fuel their honeymoon adventure through northern NSW in 1949.
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The couple used a combination of petrol, shellite, kerosene and oil in their Chevrolet ute to make the trip from Tamworth to Grafton and back down the coast through Port Macquarie to Maitland and then home again.
The couple married 65 years ago on Wednesday, and are still going strong.
They believe looking after each other and always working together are the keys to wedded bliss.
Formerly of Port Macquarie, the 86-year-old Mr Gerke and 84-year-old Mrs Gerke will return to town this weekend for a party celebrating the milestone.
Plenty of family will join them, including children Stephen, Suzanne, Garry and Julie who were all schooled in Port Macquarie.
The Gerkes moved to town in 1959, making the windy trip from Bendemeer down the Walcha mountain in a green 1948 Morris 840.
In the late 1950s it was a much more daunting prospect trip than today's bitumen drive. "The Oxley Highway was mostly dirt," Mr Gerke said.
That's not the only thing about driving in the Hastings which has changed. "You could park anywhere in the main street of Port Macquarie," Mr Gerke said.
"There would only be a few cars in the street, like four or five."
The couple owned a wholesale fruit and vegetable shop before selling it to Ken Little in 1976.
The Gerkes bought land west of Wauchope, where they lived for 10 years, before to Harrington, then Lemon Tree Passage and Armidale, where they've been for the past decade.
matt.mclennan@fairfaxmedia.com.au
