And they cannot wait to see their team play Sydney FC at Forsyth Barr Stadium later this month.
The couple moved to New Zealand shortly after getting married in 1958 and settled in Mosgiel.
One of the few things they have held tightly to, aside from their unmistakable accents, is their football team.
Bill (75), who was born in Gateshead in Durham, which his wife says means he is not a real Geordie - they are created north of the River Tyne - started following Newcastle during the club's halcyon days in the 1950s.
He went along to matches with his brother and caught the fever.
Newcastle won the FA Cup in 1950 and 1951 and returned to a heroes' parade.
''They were in an open-top bus and everyone was there to see them with the cup,'' he said.
''It was huge.''
Bill also recalled going to a cup tie against Swansea with his brother.
They had a great view until the fog closed in.
The game was abandoned after only eight minutes.
Shifting to the other side of the world did nothing to dull his passion.
While Ann (78) felt homesick until the passing of her parents in the 1990s, Bill mainly missed being able to see his team play.
Following Newcastle was not easy with rugby hogging all the headlines in his adopted country.
However, the arrival of satellite television and the internet provided a panacea, and it was a terrific and unexpected bonus now to have their team playing in their city.
''When I first came to New Zealand, I went down to see the local team. I got such a shock I never went back for years.''
That soon changed.
Bill is now a regular fixture on the sideline and is a past treasurer and secretary of the Mosgiel Association Football Club.
The couple have been back to the UK three times since Bill retired and have seen Newcastle play preseason games, including a match against Juventus.
The promoters of the Newcastle-Sydney game insist Netherlands keeper Tim Krul will front for Newcastle.
He will be fresh from his penalty-saving heroics that earlier this month helped the Dutch reach the World Cup semifinals.
