IT WAS third time lucky for Jimboomba locals Gail and Garry Begley in celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on the weekend.
The couple had two previous attempts at honouring the day they tied the knot - they married on January 16, 1971 - but two COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions on gatherings put an end to both.
The Begleys twice booked the Jimboomba and District Hall for more than 100 people, but neither went ahead.
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"[Premier Annastacia] Palaszczuk called a lockdown and buggered that," Mr Begley said of the first party.
Palaszczuk called a lockdown and buggered that
- Garry Begley
The re-booked event, set down for last Saturday, fell victim to another set of government-imposed restrictions.
"We would have had to cut back the numbers, and everyone would have had to wear masks," Mr Begley said.
"How can you say to 50 people that they can't come?"
The couple finally got to officially celebrate with friends and former colleagues at a private event on Saturday night - almost three months after their golden anniversary.
About 25 people were there, which was in line with restrictions.
Mr Begley met Gail Carpenter at teachers college at Mt Gravatt in 1970.
They worked alongside each other at Jimboomba State School for more than 45 years.
It was the glory days of teaching, Mr Begley said, and he said he felt for modern teachers and the pressures put on them in the classroom.
"It was very good to me," Mr Begley said of the profession which took the couple to the UK in the early 2000s.
They spent eight months teaching in London, using ancestry visas to visit son Brendan and daugher Belinda, who were living there.
"They liked us over there, we were experienced, in our 50s," Mrs Begley said.
"There was lots of work for us."
The Begleys have instilled a love of teaching in their children's blood. Michael, Belinda and Brendan have all taught.
The couple has four grandchildren, aged from eight to 17.
Mr Begley now farms about 80 head of cattle on the couple's property.
The land has been in his family for generations. It belonged to maternal grandfather Joseph Hinds.
His father, also called Joseph, was Jimboomba's only soldier who fought in the Second Boer War, from 1899-1902.
Joseph senior, an early settler of Jimboomba, attracted gunfire so the enemy would give their position away, and make themselves a target for artillery.
"He had to ride like crazy on his horse," Mr Begley said.
"It's amazing. If they were better shots, or he had been a bit slower, I wouldn't be here today."
Mr Begley's father Terry started the Jimboomba Fire Brigade.
Mr Begley was roped in to help one day when he went to a meeting to apologise for his father's absence.
"It really grew, from a truck in someone's backyard, we managed to get some small funds to build a station," he said.
The couple say their marriage worked because they had fun together.
"We share common interests, and have strong family morals and ethics," Mr Begley said.
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