A big, loving family and lots of good, home-cooked meals have taken lovebirds Carmen and Henry Busuttil from the altar to an anniversary of diamond proportions.
The St Albans couple will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this Thursday after a chance encounter in their native Malta turned into a lifetime of happiness.
The pair met when Henry was on leave from the British navy and have been inseparable ever since.
“I was at my brother’s place, and I saw her [across the street],” he said. “We met that day, and I took a liking straight away.”
The pair dated for two years before tying the knot on February 19, 1955.
The Busuttils did not get the chance to go on honeymoon because Henry was stationed in Egypt.
Son Philip was born in December that year. Six other children – Tony, Mario, Leon, Joey, and twins Helen and Gracie – followed. The couple now have 16 grandchildren, 16 great- grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
In 1959, the Busuttils moved to Australia and lived in Deer Park for 11 years before building their own house in St Albans, which they’ve lived in for the past 45 years.
Carmen, 78, said the way to her husband’s heart was through his stomach.
“When I cook, he eats everything; there’s no complaints,” she said.
According to Henry, 82, “for cooking, she’s a champion”.
The couple have been back to Malta twice since coming to Australia and occasionally they visit their son Philip in Queensland. Daughter Gracie Caruana said her parents had always put their burgeoning family before travel.
