Love is in the air: Barry Hart said he and Margaret were “fated to meet.” Sixty years later, their love is still burning strong.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
It was on August 25, 1962 at St Mary’s Echuca that Margaret Dixon became Margaret Hart, the wife of Barry Hart.
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With just one bridesmaid and one groomsman standing beside them, 22-year-old Margaret and Barry nervously said ‘I do’ in front of their 80 guests.
They fell head over heels when they met at the age of 18 and now, 60 years later, their love for one another is still just as strong.
As for what first attracted them to one another, Margaret joked it was “his money”.
“No I’m just kidding, he didn’t have any money, he was a student,” she said.
Barry agreed, “it’s true, there were quite a few times when Margaret had to pay for my tickets to the picture theatre,” he said.
“I think it’s just that we were compatible and we got along really well.
“Our story is a story of symmetry. We were fated to meet.”
A year after their marriage, the loved-up couple decided to start their own family.
Over the years their family grew to include four sons and one daughter.
Today, three of those sons and their daughter live in Melbourne, while the other son lives in Perth.
Margaret and Barry have consistently shown support for each other through all of their individual endeavours.
Margaret was involved in a number of community organisations and committees, some of which she is still involved with today.
She is a treasurer of one of the local Probus clubs, is the former president of the Echuca Historical Society and was the first lady president of one of the local tennis clubs.
She was always particularly interested in helping women reach their goals.
“I just love seeing women progress and do well,” she said.
“I’m all for girl power.”
While Margaret predominantly raised the kids, Barry has had a phenomenal career as an industrial chemist and as a professor.
He worked in a research centre for more than 30 years and in 2012, he received an Order of Australia.
To this day, Barry is still the chair of a number of boards, including one for research and three for consulting companies.
Margaret said she was proud of Barry’s accomplishments.
“Barry has worked hard to achieve everything that he has in his life as a professor,” she said.
Now six decades into their marriage, one of their proudest achievements is the fact that they have 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Back in 1962: Margaret and Barry Hart wed at St Mary’s Echuca in front of 80 guests.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
The pair have worked hard to enjoy the fruits of their labours. Some of their most treasured memories are of their travels.
They have travelled along the west coast of Western Australia in a camper trailer, they lived in an arboretum in up-state New York for four months and they even took their five children around Europe with them for 10 months while Barry was on sabbatical.
They had a white Christmas in Germany, stayed in Switzerland for four months and then spent their remaining months in the United Kingdom.
Just married: Margaret and Barry Hart have supported each other through all their endeavours for 60 years.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
Margaret said the secret to a successful 60-year marriage was knowing that nothing’s ever going to be perfect but you have to learn to give and take.
“Earlier on it was tough in terms of money but as we got on, we slowly became more comfortable,” she said.
Barry said to have a healthy relationship, you needed to also have a healthy mind.
We’re both mentally active and we both have really good genes, which I think we’ve both made a priority. I think it’s really important to keep your brain moving,“ he said.
The Harts celebrated at an anniversary function on Sunday, August 28.
All of their family members attended except for one grandchild who is away in Alaska playing basketball.
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