

Queensland couple Peter and Elizabeth Kent have been married for 73 years and the key to their success is simple.
That’s it: keep it simple.
“We’ve never celebrated our wedding anniversary,” Peter, 95, laughs.
“We never saw the need to, because we know how lucky we are every day. We just had our 73rd anniversary and that’s the first time we decided to do something because we moved here.
“We don’t like a fuss. Our motto has always been to keep things simple so we can focus on our marriage.”
The ‘Here’ which Peter refers to is the Aveo Freedom Care Community at Redland Bay in Queensland, which the couple decided to move to at a significant time in their lives.
“My wife, Elizabeth, is 92, and finally, we couldn’t drive anymore,” Peter explains.
“We decided we needed to move somewhere that would support us, allow us to still keep a good lifestyle.
“It’s amazing, we just love it. It has everything we need.”
As we spoke, Elizabeth was at the hairdresser’s, and Peter was happy to talk about his life with his beloved wife.
“We met in 1942, when I was 18, and she was 15. I was stationed at Boggy Creek to assemble vehicles for the army,” Peter tells us.

Elizabeth and Peter when they were younger. Image: Supplied.
“The boys heard about a dance, so I was in charge of the transport to the dance, as the buggy driver. I agreed to take others home. At the dance, I was sitting on the side lines watching everyone, and I noticed a girl with the most beautiful face.
“I couldn’t stop staring at her. She sat up front with me in the buggy and we talked as I drove her home. And that was that.”
The couple’s wedding story is representative of their attitude to each other; uncomplicated and genuine.
“I never proposed to Elizabeth. We just knew we’d be together because we were so well-suited to each other,” he adds.
Peter and Elizabeth got married on December 21, 1946, in a Brisbane church.
