General News
4 April, 2025
A special milestone for a special couple
WARRNAMBOOL couple Bob and Sue Frost are this month celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary.
The pair, who were married at the St John’s Presbyterian Church on April 9, 1955, have spent the majority of their married life in Warrnambool and say they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We love living here; it’s home for us,” they said.
“From the time we met, we enjoyed dancing together and over the years we have done a lot of that,” Sue said.
“We used to dance at the old Palais in Koroit Street and at the band hall in Kepler Street. Everywhere we could go to dance we would.
“Later on, I joined the local line dancing group with a friend of mine and we danced with the group for over 25 years; until I couldn’t do it anymore.”
Sue and Bob went on to raise seven children, Dianne, Doris, Garry, Phillip, Mark, Leanne and Tony.
They also now have 21 grandchildren and 27 great grandchildren.
“Christmas certainly is busy but we absolutely love having such a big family,” Sue said.
“They are pretty spread out in terms of where they live, with some in Port Arlington, Esperance, Geelong, Melbourne but also in Warrnambool so we are very lucky.
“We’ve had some great times together; Christmas is always a highlight.”
With such a big ‘crew’ Bob and Sue always enjoyed watching them play a traditional game of backyard cricket each year.
“Gee, sometimes they would play long into the night and I’d have to go outside around midnight sometimes and tell them it was time to pull up stumps,” Sue recalled.
“They’d say look out here comes the umpire – we even had times where the electricity blew because we had too many things running at once on Christmas Day. Those were fun times.”
Bob and Sue Frost believe a lot of give and take, along with tolerance, patience and laughter, are some of the keys to a long and happy marriage.
With their children involved in many sporting and community groups over the years, Bob and Sue also became firmly entrenched within the local community.
Bob joined the Warrnambool Fire Brigade and today, even at the age of 92, he remains an active member.
For more than 30 years he helped with the fire spotting on Mt Warrnambool and thoroughly enjoyed his role and his time with colleagues.
In the early 1950s he joined the Warrnambool RSL and over the years held various positions on the committee and was often seen selling Anzac badges and raffle tickets.
“We still enjoy going down the RSL every Friday night; Bob helps out with the raffle ticket sales, and each Monday afternoon we head there for a delicious Devonshire tea,” Sue said.
“The RSL has been a big part of our lives and will continue to do so; it’s an important part of this town.”
Warrnambool’s Premier Speedway also holds a special place in Bob’s heart.
He joined in 1958, has a life membership and it was only after suffering “a few strokes” three or four years ago that he began to wind back his commitment.
“We used to go down to the speedway almost every day to water the grass and do other odd jobs around the place,” Bob recalled.
“Sue also helped me paint the pole line by hand; that was quite a job.
“The speedway used to be out at Wannon Park and then at the racecourse before moving to Allansford. It’s a great facility out there now but I’ve slowed down abit in recent years and have scaled back what I do now.”
When their children were young and involved with the South Warrnambool Football Netball Club, Bob and Sue also worked behind the scenes to help out where they could.
“We both prefer to be Indians rather than chiefs,” Sue said.
“I’d bring home all the footy jumpers each weekend and wash them all and Bob would clean all the footies.
“That was in between running backwards and forward to the hockey; our kids loved their sport and we enjoyed being a part of the clubs.”
With no intentions of leaving their beloved Warrnambool home, the Frost’s are now happy to spend time with family and friends and enjoy a “somewhat quieter” lifestyle.
They are looking forward to celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary with a dinner with family.
