Together: Bev and Keith Woodward at Southern Cross Care in Moama.
Bev and Keith Woodward have been residents at Southern Cross Care in Moama for two years now, enjoying their retirement after decades of working on the land in rural Australia.
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They met at a dance in Tongala in 1961, and have been by each other’s side ever since, settling in Picola not long after their wedding.
“We bought a transportable house and put it on Keith’s parents’ farm,” Bev says.
The couple did not have children; instead, they worked alongside each other moving from one rural town to the next.
A year after their wedding, they purchased 300 acres in Picola and worked on the land, cropping.
Four years later, the couple moved the transportable house to Bunnaloo.
“We had to wait for the bridge to Barmah to be open, once opened we moved the house from Picola to the farm where we cropped and ran sheep for 15 years,” Bev says.
Like all couples, Bev and Keith faced some challenges; after years of drought and difficulties building, the couple lived in caravans for a period of time.
They sold their farm to purchase a trucking business in Mathoura, but after another set of difficulties, they began to contract their cropping services, finding employment in Queensland.
“I would drive the ute and Keith the semi with the header on board to Queensland,” Bev said.
“We did this for 20 years.”
After many years of work, travel and adventures together, Bev and Keith found their way back to the border and settled down in Mathoura.
The couple moved to Southern Cross Care in Moama in 2020 when Keith underwent foot surgery and Bev required support during the time.
They share one another’s company every day. Keith makes his way to Bev’s room where they enjoy chatting, watching television and eating meals together.
Newlyweds: Bev and Keith on their wedding day.
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