At a loose end, Mr Taylor and his friend headed to the nurses' ball around the corner ‘‘just for a look in the door'' and there he clapped eyes on his wife-to-be Brenda Bignell, then just 17.
‘‘As the story goes . . . he said, ‘Who's that girl with the dress and the little wings?','' Mrs Taylor (80) told The News.
‘‘It was the wings that attracted me, not the girl,'' Mr Taylor (83) said with a chuckle.
The ‘‘wings'' were actually capped sleeves, a new fashion trend at the time, but from that day forth, Mrs Taylor has been an angel in her husband's eyes and he in hers.
The couple marked their 60th wedding anniversary last Thursday and celebrated with their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and extended family and friends at their Lake Hawea home on Saturday.
Married in Timaru on January 15, 1949, the newlyweds spent time in the Mt Cook/Lake Pukaki area, where Mr Taylor worked in highway maintenance and as a trainee mechanic.
A son and a daughter were born, then the family moved further south to Roxburgh, where Mr Taylor did ‘‘all sorts of jobs''.
During a trip to Lake Hawea one Easter in the early 1950s, the Taylors fell in love with the area and bought three-quarters of an acre in a new subdivision for £135, before building - ‘‘all with our own hands'' - their home on Skinner Cres, where they still live today.
The couple have since sold off some of their section, but understand the block of land they originally bought is now valued at more than a million dollars.
The Taylors' house was the first in the subdivision and early photos - from when the family lived without power, phone or water supply - show a remarkably different Lake Hawea township from today.
‘‘It was matagouri and tussocks and rabbit holes you could fit a cow in,'' Mrs Taylor said, also paying tribute to her husband's handyman skills and his ‘‘magnificent'' rock work which still features prominently on the property.
‘‘He's the original do-it-yourself Kiwi.''
Another son was born in Lake Hawea and the couple built and managed a block of motels there - Motel Lindo, which was later sold and turned into ownership flats.
Mr Taylor spent more time in highway maintenance as an overseer and ‘‘general duties'' man and owned his own machinery and truckcontracting business in the township for several years. He sold that business but then bought it back and ran it a second time until he retired at age 75.
Mrs Taylor got her heavy traffic licence when she was ‘‘chasing 50'' to be the back-up driver for the business.
She also worked for a time as the Wanaka correspondent for the Otago Daily Times and received a civic honour from the Queenstown Lakes District Council in recognition of her voluntary services to the community, including time spent as president of the Hawea Community Association, six years on the Vincent County Council (the first woman elected in 107 years) and three years with the QLDC.
Rhododendrons, camping trips and vintage cars are three interests the couple share. However, the latter is perhaps more Mr Taylor's passion.
That fateful night at the Waimate dance 62 years earlier, he drove his new sweetheart home in his Buick and talked to her until 4am about motor cars.
The couple regularly drive their 1939 Master 85 Chevrolet utility - fully restored by Mr Taylor, who is working on two other cars at present. After 60 years together, Mrs Taylor attributes the success of their marriage primarily to commitment.
‘‘I was from a broken home and when I vowed to love my man all my life I did so.''
For Mr Taylor, being constant companions had been key.
