General News
11 August, 2026
Doran couple celebrate milestone
July was a special month for the Doran couple, who marked 65 years of marriage.
Anne and Henry Doran celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary last month.
The pair have spent many golden years together since they got married on July 8, 1961.
Enough time that their wedding anniversary was “just another day” for the couple.
However, how they met remains memorable.
Mrs Doran can still recall how her now-husband looked when she first saw him.
“He had nice curly hair, gold in his teeth, and he had a wolf whistle. I thought gee he looked alright,” she said.
It turned out the feeling was mutual.
“It was nearly love at first sight,” Mr Doran said.
Perhaps then it was fitting the newly married couple were announced in an old-school fashion.
Mr Doran said he parked the ute and “by the time we got back it’d been bloody well done up”.
They drove away to the sound of wedding bells — clattering cans on bitumen.
Their relationship saw cultures collide, he was from Dunolly while she was from Holland, yet farm life posed the real challenge.
Mrs Doran had to adjust to a new way of living, while learning fundamental skills like how to cook, after moving to his farm near Eddington.
“I would be on the phone for an hour [with mum for advice] and when I got off the phone I’d wonder what she said,” Mrs Doran said.
One day, when lamb was for dinner, she picked out a cut and tried to cook it.
“I didn’t know. I just pulled a bit out and put it in the saucepan,” she said.
When Mr Doran came home at lunch he was shocked to see what she tried to roast — the neck.
“You’ve got to look at the funny parts about it all,” he said.
Soon though the pair found their rhythm, and then they were firing on all cylinders, living very busy lives.
They went from farming, to earth moving, gold mining, and even became saw millers in their 60s.
Mrs Doran was active in Dunolly’s community life.
She volunteered widely and said she was the first female councillor of the Shire of Bet Bet.
The pair also travelled Australia, and the world, which is just another way they’ve always been on the move.
“Farmers don’t stop,” she said.
Her secrets to a happy marriage are the same she gave to their three sons.
“Eyes open, ears open, and the mouth shut,” she said.
Mr Doran said the secret was compromise.
“There’s no good fighting them all the time,” he said.
Their enduring love is symbolised in the familiar weight of their wedding band — one made from gold they mined.
“That’s my welcome stranger,” Mrs Doran said.