What matters most to the Salamander Bay couple, who marked 75 years of marriage on March 22, is family.

“Birthdays, anniversaries – they’re just events,” Mr Blowes said.

“They come along because there were events held on those days.

“The most important thing, what we concentrate on, is family.

“We value the family gatherings because they live all over – Victoria, Queensland, Sydney – but they think it is important enough to come together.”

Mr Blowes added jokingly though that 75 years of marriage “isn’t too bad”.

Thirty-six direct descendants of the Bloweses, including children through to great-great-grandchildren, travelled to the Bay for the April 2-3 weekend.

The gathering did not only celebrate the wedding anniversary but also the pair’s birthdays. Mrs Blowes turned 95 in February and Mr Blowes turned 103 on April 4.

“Good genes, good family, country life – it’s hard to say,” Mrs Blowes said when asked what she thought was the secret to a long life and marriage.

“A bit of luck comes into it. It’s a commitment and you do go through changes, which you have to adjust to. We live quietly. We’re a happy team.”

The Bloweses met at a ball in Mudgee, the small country town where Pattie lived. Mr Blowes had moved to Mudgee to open his menswear business.

“It wasn’t love at first sight,” Mr Blowes said. “We had different partners but we seemed to get back together every now and then. We thought staying together would be the best thing to do.”

They were married in March 1941, one year after Mr Blowes joined the World War II effort.

“It was different back then, during war time,” Mrs Blowes said. “There was a certain amount of urgency you felt about getting married to someone before they went off to war.”

Their first child, a girl, was born in 1942. Mr Blowes returned to Australia in 1945 when the war ended.

The couple raised four children in Mudgee while Mr Blowes expanded his business. Mr Blowes retired and the pair moved to Port Stephens in 1980.