Alyssa Fritzlaff
PAM and John Guy are one of the best-known couples in Morwell, and celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last month.
Mr Guy is a former mayor of Morwell. He served for a total of three years with Mrs
Guy by his side.
The couple did not meet in Morwell, they did not even meet in the state of Victoria.
Instead, their love story begins in Queenstown, Tasmania.
They first met when they were only young children, in a park in Queenstown at 12 years
of age.
Later on, they began dating and got engaged in their early 20s.
During their courtship, one of their favourite things to do was to attend the Paragon Theatre in Queenstown every Saturday night.
“We used to go to the pictures every Saturday night, and we had the same seats,” Mr Guy said.
“E1 and E2,’’ Mrs Guy said.
Ballroom dancing was another one of the couple’s favourite activities.
They moved to Victoria chasing work opportunities after Mr Guy finished an apprenticeship.
Mr Guy settled in Morwell to work for the SEC in 1962, and Mrs Guy followed later that same year.
The pair married in Footscray on February 17, 1962.
There were about 50 guests in attendance, many of whom had travelled from Tasmania to celebrate with the newlyweds.
They now have two children, Peter and Heather, and five grandchildren – all boys – ranging in age from 26 to 16.
“The pink knitting was to no avail,” Mrs Guy joked.
Their 60 years together have always been busy, caught up in a whirlwind of children,
local government service and volunteering.
The couple said the keys to their success are support and communication.
“I think a big thing in marriage is communication,” Mrs Guy said.
“You’ve got to sit down and talk about things, if you’ve had little disagreements or something, you’ve got to iron them out.”
Mr Guy agrees, and said he feels the secret to their long-lasting marriage is supporting each other.
In the 1990s, Mr Guy faced some health challenges and during this time Mrs Guy was
his primary support.
“Pam has stood by me right through all those trials,” he said.
Mr Guy spent six years in local government, highlighted by his stint as mayor.
He said his wife was a big support during this time.
She worked full-time as well, and cared for their children during the week while Mr Guy
ferried the children to their extra-curricular activities on weekends.
“John had a very busy public persona, he was the mayor of the City of Morwell for three
years. That was a very busy time, but a very rewarding time,” Mrs Guy said.
“Pam supported me through all that as well, Pam was a lot better at mixing with people,”
Mr Guy said.
“We met a lot of people, mates and friends, through local government – people that we are
still very good friends with now.”
Mr Guy was eventually awarded an Order of Australia Medal for his service to the region,
which he was nominated for by Mrs Guy.
He had no idea she had nominated him, but once his letter arrived offering him the
prestigious award she had to confess.
She is very proud of his achievements.
Later in life, Mr Guy has continued his work in the community, volunteering as a Justice of
the Peace at Morwell Police Station, serving at Advance Morwell and the Latrobe Community Health Service board, where he served a chair for many years.
The couple are very involved members of the community, and love the place they live.
“Morwell’s been good to us, we’ve seen the good times and the not so good, but it will
always be home to us,” Mrs Guy said.
