It was the classic tale of country boy and city girl, except the story did not finish when they smooched and drove off into the sunset.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
The story lasted seven decades and is still going strong to this day inside the halls of Warramunda Village.
Bill and Shirley Raglus celebrate 70 years of their story together on Wednesday, October 30. But how did it all start?
Shirley Ann Munton was born in Brighton on February 18, 1933, and had dreams of furthering her dressmaking passion into further education.
When her dad moved to Rushworth to start up a dry-cleaning service, she went to visit him on a long weekend.
She took public transport and when she ended up stranded in Rushworth during a terrible spout of floods, her father suggested she work in his new business and earn some cash while she was stuck in the country.
Shirley was reluctant, but her choice to stay turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Enter Bill Raglus. Born on October 25, 1933, Bill was a handsome young farmer with a passion for tennis and music.
One afternoon on High St in Rushworth, Bill was playing the baritone under the rotunda with his band when he spotted Shirley across the street.
He watched her walking along, bopping her head and swaying along the footpath to his band’s music.
“In a small town, everyone knows when someone is new ... I was the new girl in town,” Shirley said.
“She turned up in town and I thought (she) looked all right,” Bill said.
As luck would have it, their paths would cross once again, this time at a dance, when Bill approached Shirley for a dance.
“The more I got to know her, the more I liked her, and it just went on from there,” Bill said.
Bill proposed to Shirley in his car, she accepted, and they married at the Methodist church in Rushworth on Saturday, October 30, 1954, at 2.30pm.
They celebrated with their friends and family at the Rushworth Fire Brigade Hall before catching a lift to Phillip Island, where they enjoyed a relaxing honeymoon surrounded by Victorian wildlife.
They began expanding their family tree in 1955 with the arrival of Judie, followed by Rob in 1957, Wayne in 1961 and Wendy in 1963.
Right after Ian arrived in 1964, Bill announced he was interested in buying a farm out in Moora.
“I was in hospital right after I had Ian and Bill came in to visit one night and said ‘I’d like to buy a farm and I’ve been offered one,’ and I thought, ‘what’s on a farm?’” Shirley said.
“I used to open gates (at the farm), but that’s about all I knew about (farming).
“I must’ve agreed because before I knew it, I was in the middle of a farm.”
It was nothing that a city girl like Shirley could have imagined, but she took it on the chin and adapted to the farming landscape, taking the simple life in her stride with her kids in tow.
One adjustment she had to make was getting her driver’s license so she could drive the five children around town: football and netball practice in the cooler months and tennis practice in the hotter months.
“I never drove until we moved to the farm and all of a sudden, I have to get my license,” Shirley said.
“Most people love to drive — it didn’t do a thing for me.”
However much she disliked driving, her hard work did not go unnoticed by Bill, who was busy farming sheep and wheat across their two farms.
“I was able to do what I could because Shirley did a great job of taking care of the kids and the house,” Bill said.
“She could do anything on the farm and I’d go back and she was cooking dinner or doing something else — she was just amazing.”
After they ceased their farming lifestyle, the pair took up bowls and saw great success in the sport, with Shirley taking out the Victorian Open title and Bill crowned club champion multiple years in a row.
After Shirley experienced a stroke in 2021 that immobilised the right side of her body, she was placed into Warramunda Aged Care.
Every day, Bill would walk from their house on Unwin St to visit Shirley at Warramunda, before he determined he did not want to live in a house without her in it.
He moved into Warramunda in February 2022 and they have been living together ever since.
Bill and Shirley will celebrate their 70th anniversary on Saturday, November 2, at the Moama RSL surrounded by their five children, 14 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren, some of whom are travelling from as far as Cairns for the occasion.
While the first chapter of their love story began with a band and a passing good impression, Shirley and Bill’s next chapter is sure to be filled with the little tales of love that have played out across the past 70 years of their lives.
On behalf of the Free Press, congratulations Bill and Shirley.
Cadet Journalist