By Rachael Terry
Here in South Golden Beach live an extraordinary couple, Colleen and Werner, who have recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.
This is remarkable in itself, but what makes them so amazing is that they are still the most loving couple I know.
They met when Colleen was sixteen, and working as a waitress in Sydney.
Werner, or Snow as he’s known, had arrived in Australia at 17-years-old, two years previously on an assisted passage from Germany.
They met at the cafe where Colleen was working – Snow came in every day after his factory shift and ordered his bacon and eggs. One day, one of the other waitresses convinced Colleen that they should take ‘the German boys’ out for the day.
By the time they headed home, Colleen and Snow were holding hands, and they’ve been holding hands ever since. They married when Colleen was 17 and Snow was 21.
It was tough to find work at that time, so Snow resorted to taking shearing work in Victoria, while Colleen stayed with her mum and dad in Sydney’s western suburbs.
This didn’t work well for either of them, and Snow soon found work in Sydney, first taxi driving, and eventually driving buses. Meanwhile Colleen, after having two children, worked as a conductor on those same buses. By this time, they were in their own place in Bondi, where Snow’s love of surfing was sparked.
After working together for six years, they were forced to take a break, when Snow needed a gall bladder operation. As part of his recuperation, they came for a holiday to Byron Bay, driving up from Sydney in their kombi. They loved it here, enjoying the laid back surf lifestyle, and Snow was dreading the thought of going back to Sydney and to work.
Kiosk operators at The Pass
While they were here, they saw that Council was asking for tenders to be submitted for the running of the kiosk at The Pass.
Although they’d never done anything like that before, they thought, what the heck, and cobbled together a tender. Imagine their surprise a few weeks later, back in Sydney, when they got the phone call to come for an interview. Back up the coast, Snow trundled in the kombi and he must’ve done well in the interview, because the next thing they knew, they’d packed up and moved to The Pass.
They ran the kiosk for the next ten years, from 1976 to 1986, becoming an integral part of that early Byron scene. They loved that time, but eventually they’d had enough, and that’s when they relocated to South Golden Beach. Snow drove the school buses for some years after that, becoming a fixture in the lives of hundreds of school children.
These days, Colleen is renowned for her daily rides to the beach on her three wheel trike (which was provided by the locals when it became apparent that she’d become a bit too unsteady on her two wheel bike), followed by a 4km walk on the beach, every day, rain hail or shine!
Snow is not doing quite as well these days, at 91, although he still gets out on his ride-on mower to do the lawns, and occasionally to go for a spin around the neighbourhood (on the mower!) much to Colleen’s consternation.
Live independently
Despite the fact that she has failing eyesight and is a full time carer to Snow, they live independently, the only service they access being a trip to the shops once a week for groceries.
This is a testament to both their strength and resilience, as well as the love and support of their two children, and most importantly, their community. SGB is a special place where we look after our own.
So happy 70th anniversary to Colleen and Snow, thank you both for being such an inspiration to so many!
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