It may not have been quite the length of Royal wedding coverage, but yesterday Margaret (91) and Donald (95) Malcolm were able to view themselves briefly in a film taken on their big day in Christchurch 65 years ago.
The film was taken by Associate Prof Malcolm's late brother Laurence, with the images now transferred to DVD and shown at a family celebration in Roslyn on Sunday.
The couple received a round of applause at the morning service at Knox Church on Sunday, the church where Prof Malcolm was baptised and which they still regularly attend.
While Mrs Malcolm (nee Ussher) worked as a nurse, her romance with Prof Malcolm was not the classic nurse-doctor one as they did not work together.
Their friendship developed through letters exchanged during World War 2 when Prof Malcolm spent time serving in Fiji.
The proposal, when Prof Malcolm returned at the end of the war, was not in the most romantic setting, coming when "I was flat on my back in Christchurch Hospital", Mrs Malcolm said.
She was thought to have had rheumatic fever at the time.
Prof Malcolm studied medicine at the University of Otago and specialised in the treatment of tuberculosis and later paediatrics.
Following that training, the couple and their three young children moved to Palmerston North in 1957 where he set up New Zealand's second neonatal unit, returning to Dunedin in 1968 to establish the neonatal unit at Queen Mary Maternity Hospital.
The couple agreed that Prof Malcolm's demanding career meant he had not been able to spend a lot of time with his children, but in his retirement had more time to enjoy time with his five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Asked what advice they might have for couples starting out, Mrs Malcolm said it was important to allow for differences and to never let the sun go down on an argument.
They were pleased they had made the decision about four years ago to leave their home and go to the Abbeyfield house in Balmacewen, sometimes called "flatting for seniors".
It had allowed them to have independence, as well as support and companionship, and allowed them to stay together, something which would have been difficult in a rest-home, Mrs Malcolm said.
Prof Malcolm put the success of their marriage succinctly: "We have got on very well together."
