From church tennis and country dances to raising a family, running a business and decades of community service, George and Val McPherson have built an amazing life together in Myrtleford.

The couple marked an extraordinary milestone last Tuesday, as they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.

George and Val were married on September 29, 1956, when Val was 23 and George was 24.

Seventy years later, they remain in Myrtleford, the town where they met, raised their three children, established a business and devoted countless hours to their community.

Val was born and raised in Myrtleford, while George arrived in town as a teenager after his father began working for the State Electricity Commission.

In a town the size of Myrtleford, Val said meeting each other was almost inevitable.

“It’s a small town, so it was difficult not to meet,” she said.

Both belonged to the Presbyterian Church and its youth fellowship group and also played tennis for the church team.

“Being a fairly small town, you come across each other frequently,” Val said.

“I think he might have liked the look of me and I might have liked the look of him.”

There were also local dances, where George apparently had a distinct advantage.

“He was a very good dancer,” Val said.

“I was not, but I managed to avoid being trodden on all the time.”

George began his working life as an apprentice electrician in Myrtleford and remained in the trade after completing his apprenticeship.

The year after the couple married, he started his own electrical business.

Val had been a primary school teacher, but after their eldest daughter, Anne, was born in 1957, her career took a different direction.

“I was then needed to help run the business instead of going back to teaching,” she said.

Together, George and Val spent about 40 years working in the business which became Myrtleford Electrical.

Over the years, they trained around 18 apprentices and also operated Northeast Sheet Metals in Standish Street.

Their William Street home which they moved into after their wedding, was very much a family project, as Val’s father, a Myrtleford builder, constructed the house with the help of George and Val’s brother.

At the time, there were only three houses in the street, which became 'a boggy track', Val recalled when it rained.

Anne was born in 1957, followed by David two years later and Ross in 1964.

“We educated them and taught them to be independent,” Val said.

That independence became especially important for their son David.

At eight years old, he was involved in a car accident that left him paraplegic.

“His life changed and so did ours,” Val said.

Fortunately as the house was on a flat block without steps, the family did not need to relocate, while the swimming pool gave David an opportunity to return to a sport he already loved.

Before the accident, David had been an under-seven swimming club champion in Myrtleford.

He later competed in disability swimming at international level, including in New Zealand, before turning his attention to other sports.

Sport allowed George and David to eventually become involved in something which would have a lasting impact on the lives of people with disabilities.

While attending an international sporting event in England in 1984, the family heard about specialised equipment to allow paraplegic skiers to get onto the snow.

The following year, George and David travelled to Switzerland to learn more.

When they returned to Australia, George set about building the equipment themselves.

The resulting device, essentially a specially designed seat mounted on a ski with outriggers for balance, was demonstrated at Falls Creek in 1985.

Support followed from alpine resorts including Falls Creek, Mount Hotham and Thredbo, helping create opportunities for people with disabilities to learn to ski.

George was involved not only in making the equipment, but also in showing others how to use it.

An early member of the Myrtleford Ski Club, George helped construct its ski lodge and was a competitive skier himself, becoming Victorian intermediate downhill and slalom champion in 1957.

David, meanwhile, went on to study applied science and clinical studies and built an independent career and life of his own.

Anne trained as a nurse in Melbourne before completing further orthopaedic training in Western Australia, where she later married and settled in Perth

Ross' engineering career eventually took him overseas to England, where he worked on major water infrastructure, and later to Melbourne and Brisbane, where he established his own consultancy.

Today George and Val's family extends through grandchildren and great-grandchildren, their first grandchild having arrived in 1986.

A lifetime in Myrtleford has also given George and Val a front-row seat to some extraordinary events.

Their property escaped serious flooding over the years, although nearby Nil Gully Creek would occasionally overflow; and the roof only sustained minor damage from a storm in the late 1950s or 1960s.

In 1969, the Buffalo River fire brought another frightening experience.

“You could not see between here and the house next door, the smoke was so thick,” Val said.

“I could hear the neighbours talking down the road, but I couldn’t see them.”

George was away with the fire brigade, leaving Val at home with three children as she did what she could to prepare the property, before a change in the wind carried the immediate threat elsewhere.

George spent decades involved with the fire brigade and is now a life member.

He also helped establish the local State Emergency Service Unit and served organisations including the Myrtleford Cemetery Trust and Myrtleford Show Society.

For George, volunteering was simply part of living in a small country community.

“There weren’t many people about and you have to pull your weight,” he said.

The CFA was not just about responding to emergencies, George recalled, but was also an important part of the social fabric of the town.

When firefighters were called out, community members rallied around them.

“If there was a fire, ladies from town started cutting sandwiches, making meals and feeding everybody,” George said.

Val carved out an equally impressive record of volunteering.

For 20 years she served as an area manager for the Royal Children’s Hospital's 'Good Friday Appeal'.

She was also treasurer of the local family history society for around 15 years.

In 2016, George and Val were each awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for their contributions to the community.

George's recognition reflected, among other contributions, his involvement in disabled skiing, while Val's acknowledged her community service, including her long association with the Good Friday Appeal.

Through seven decades there was still time for family holidays, often with the caravan in tow.

Val remembers taking trips during the school holidays, particularly during quieter periods for their electrical business.

But perhaps the couple’s greatest shared achievement is simpler than medals, businesses or sporting accomplishments.

It is the life they have built together.

Asked what advice they would offer to younger couples after 70 years of marriage, Val had already jotted down some thoughts.

“Healthy living and exercise,” she said.

“A discussion does not have to be an argument and compromise does not mean failure.

“Similar interests can be an advantage and you need respect for each other’s strengths.”

Then came perhaps the simplest advice of all.

“Stick at it,” Val said.

“That sums it up nicely.”

For George, a successful partnership extends beyond the front door.

“Get involved together in all types of community things, organisations, groups, in your community in general,” he said.

It is advice George and Val have certainly lived by.

Congratulations to this amazing couple!

They gathered with their extended family for a celebratory lunch, this past Saturday 3 October in Milawa.