Birkdale lovebirds Barry and Joy Bright celebrate their 60th Wedding Anniversary

The Birkdale couple celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary on October 15 and have lived in the same house, they built from scratch 55 years ago.

Joy was just 17 years old when she met Barry who often stayed with his grandmother in Victoria Point.

"My sister and I were walking to the shops in Victoria Point when Barry's brother stopped his car and offered to give us a lift. But of course the car got a flat tyre and Barry had to come along and fix it," Joy said.

And that was that.

The couple married in the tiny Church of England with just a few guests including bridesmaids and a best man.

"A family friend and a last minute guest who my father had met at the pub before the wedding ceremony gave us a £1 note and offered to cut the trees for our new home as a wedding gift," Joy said.

So 10 months after they were wed Barry picked out the trees and they were taken to the Cleveland saw mill.

"We had to find a piece of land in a hurry. We paid about £350, equivalent to about $700 for the land our house is on," Barry said.

Barry was a carpenter at the time and then enlisted in the army. He spent several years in the military, traveling away from home.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder...and between army and life, we got a house up," Joy said.

Joy had a job at the Victoria Point Cafe and did a bit of farm work on the nearby strawberry farms.

The couple were blessed with four sons, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Now the couple spend their time traveling around Australia in their caravan. They have visited towns far and wide, making new friends along the way.

Their secret to staying married for so long is a relationship that has a bit of give and take.