Platinum anniversary | Les and Margaret's 70-year love story

In the Adelaide suburb of Maryland, on August 25, Les Baker stood in the Church of Christ awaiting Margaret Roberts’ walk down the aisle.

Fast-forward 70 years’ and on August 25, 2026 the happy couple celebrated their Platinum Wedding anniversary with friends and family, in their Benalla home.

“I can’t believe it’s been 70 years,” Les said.

Margaret confirmed to him that it has been 70 years’, but she still remembers Les coming to her family’s holiday house to ask her to marry him.

“Margaret was working that morning. It was a Saturday,” Les said.

“Her mum and dad were there, and I asked them if it would be all right if we got married.

“And they said yes.”

When Margaret returned from work, Les popped the question, and luckily, she said yes too.

“They were glad to get rid of me,” Margaret said, with a laugh.

Les said when the big day arrived it was unseasonably warm in South Australia.

“It was very pleasant for that time of year, except there had been a bit of flooding,” he said.

“It was a real family occasion because we were married in the church that we'd been involved in since we were tiny tots.”

Les said as it was such a familiar location, surrounded by friends and family he had no nerves on the day.

And the couple were keen to set off to their honeymoon after the ceremony.

The couple headed for Mildura, which had been hit hard by that pesky record Murray River flood.

“There was a lot of the town that wasn't flooded,” Les said.

“But we've been back to Mildura since, and found quite a few things that we couldn't see in ‘56 because they were underwater.”

The couple moved to Ryans Creek in 1984 to be close to family, before retiring to Benalla.

When asked what the secret as to 70 years of happy marriage was, Margaret said it’s important to always talk to one another.

“Don’t go to bed cross or angry. You can always sort it out. Problems are made worse by not talking.”