Platinum marriage built on faith and family
People
Love was in the air on Sunday September 21 when almost 200 couples in and around Adelaide were recognised for the longevity and strength of their marriages. Among those receiving a blessing and certificate for milestone wedding anniversaries were Margaret and Brian Martin.
Brian and Margaret on their wedding day.
Shortly after Brian and Margaret Martin were married at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hindmarsh in November 1955, they set off to catch a plane to Sydney where, courtesy of a radio quiz, they’d won a two-week honeymoon stay at the Hotel Australia.
“Winning was a complete surprise,” said Brian, although there might have been a little help from above. “Margaret insisted we went to the Cathedral to say a prayer first.”
And it got better.
“Everyone went to the airport to see us off as the Adelaide airport had only just opened a few months before,” Brian recalled.
It has been a busy 70 years since for Brian and Margaret (now in their early 90s) who have travelled the world but never moved more than a few kilometres from Adelaide’s western suburbs.
“We’re coastal people,” Brian said.
“Margaret’s parents were licensees of the Brompton Park Hotel and I lived in Flinders Park. We both went to school at St Joseph’s Convent, Hindmarsh.”
Brian still has distinct memories of his wife from that time, right down to the plaits she wore.
“We first really got together in 1951. As a group we rode our bikes to Henley Beach and I remember saying to people ‘is there anyone who will jump from the jetty and swim in with me?’,” Brian said.
Margaret responded ‘yes’ and that was the start of their relationship.
When The Southern Cross visited the couple at their West Lakes home in the week leading up to Father’s Day last month, nine family members had met up the day before with a few early presents coming Brian’s way.
He is on a good wicket here – there have been five children, 15 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren to date.
How on earth do they keep track?
“There are iPads and so no excuse for forgetting birthdays,” Brian said.
It is unlikely anyone would forget an occasion involving Brian and Margaret, such is their long and significant contribution to their community.
They have long been regular and devoted attendees at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church at Henley Beach although streaming services every Sunday are increasingly the channel of choice with the Bishop of Lismore a particular online favourite with Margaret.
“He was the reason we started the online services,” said Brian.
“It’s very fulfilling. You can tune into America or anywhere and our daughter-in-law Joanne comes around later with Communion.”
The couple built their first house in Grange on Sturt Street in 1954. Brian said it was a time when it felt like everyone was moving forward.
“We paid 300 pounds for the land, the house is still standing 70 years later, one of the few on the street,” he said.
“I remember the day I took the approval to the chief clerk of Henley Beach; he stamped and returned it straight away on the counter. That’s how long it took.”
Next was a house in West Lakes before they built a house in Tennyson on the seafront, where they stayed for 30 years.
“We have loved the beach and sea,” Brian said.
Surf lifesaving and water polo have been staples for the family with their youngest granddaughter Tayla Dawkins recently returning from Brazil where she captained the Australian women’s U20s water polo team at the world championships.
And compounding the family love of water, another grandson, Jake Martin, was a member of the U20s Australian boys international water polo team.
As managing director of the Delfin Property Group from 1975 to 1995, Brian was the driving force behind the West Lakes housing and urban development project which comprised 6000 houses accommodating 20,000 people.
He was also heavily involved in the Catholic Church, including as a member of The Southern Cross board and the Archdiocese’s property council.
A keen golfer, only giving up on his 92nd birthday (last year), Brian has been a long-standing member of Grange Golf Club. In 1975 Brian was lucky enough to present the winner’s blazer at the West Lakes Classic, held at Grange, to a young and emerging Australian superstar – Greg Norman.
The meeting doubled in value a few years later on a trip to the Canadian Rockies. Brian and Margaret boarded a train in Banff to take them to Vancouver and there were two seats left in the middle of the carriage.
“We went towards them as a big American came from the opposite side,” Brian recalled.
“Where are you from?” asked the American.
“I’m from Australia,” replied Brian.
“Do you know Greg Norman?” the American enquired.
“Yes, I do,” said Brian.
“Well, I can’t beat that,” said the American. “You can have the seats.”
Over their 70 years of marriage there have been plenty of ‘ups’ such as this, but also some downs, including when their son and highly respected Catholic school principal Lynn Martin died in 2020 at the age of 64.
However, with faith and family at the centre of their lives, Brian and Margaret’s platinum anniversary next month is sure to be another ‘up’.
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