‘Six continents and back’ — Mr and Mrs Bowen celebrate 70 years of marriage
On 20 June 2023, Mr and Mrs Wilfred (‘Wilf’) and Barbara Bowen celebrated an impressive 70 years of marriage at Resthaven Marion, where they live together.
Reflecting on an eventful Sunday evening in 1948, Mr Bowen recalls, ‘Barbara sang in the choir at our local Methodist church at Prospect. That was the first time I laid eyes on her, and she stood out from the rest.’
‘I was studying agriculture at Roseworthy College, and could only come back home once a month, so we had a bit of waiting to do before our first date.’
A month went by, and the couple enjoyed an evening at the Regent Theatre on Rundle Street (now the Regent Arcade), sparking a lifetime of romance.
After four years of going back and forth, Mr Bowen found employment with the Department of Agriculture on Kangaroo Island.
‘I invited Barbara for the weekend, and we spent a day at Emu Bay. That’s where I asked her to marry me.’
On 20 June 1953, the couple came back to Adelaide to marry in the place where they had first met, surrounded by their friends and family.
‘We set up home on a mixed farm near Gawler, before moving to Jamestown in 1956, then Mount Gambier in 1968. We moved across to different farmlands to continue developing new milking systems.’
In their Mount Gambier home, the family grew to six. With a few more promotions, they relocated to Noarlunga, Brighton, and then Seacliff to settle down—although, their plan wasn’t entirely to settle.
‘Throughout our lives together, we have always enjoyed bird watching, and travelled across six continents and back to do it.’
In 2010, Mr and Mrs Bowen took their last international trip together—where Mr Bowen could look back on his life’s work.
‘Decades ago, we travelled in China, where I converted their hand-milking over to machine—the first one of its kind.’
‘Many years later, we came back to the same village, and we could see how the system had improved their farming capabilities over time. It was surreal to go back and see what our work has done for them.’
In 2022, Mr Bowen’s service to the community was recognised, as he received a well-deserved Order of Australia Medal.
‘It was an honour for me to receive one of the last from Queen Elizabeth II before she passed.’
Upon reaching 70 years of marriage, Mrs Bowen says, ‘We have always managed to do everything together, and it has been good to always have something to look forward to—a new adventure, and we have had plenty!’
Now, Mr and Mrs Bowen enjoy a quieter lifestyle together in their home at Resthaven Marion, staying in touch with the friends they have made around the world; including their four children, eleven grandchildren, and four great grandchildren, many of whom have inherited the travelling bug from them.
Happy 70th wedding anniversary, Mr and Mrs Bowen! What an incredible life you have led together.