Nina and Manuel Stellini on their wedding day in 1951 and celebrating their 60th anniversary. 69862
By Charlene Gatt
IT’S an anniversary of diamond proportions.
Footscray couple Manuel and Nina Stellini notched up 60 years of wedded bliss late last month surrounded by their five children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Manuel first spotted Nina one day when he was trying to catch some birds, but the pair did not get together until meeting again in Mosta, a village in Malta, on a public holiday.
They courted for two years before tying the knot on 26 August 1951 at the local parish church in Naxxar, Malta.
Manuel and Nina migrated to Australia in 1954 with their first-born daughter, Vicky, living briefly in North Melbourne before moving to Footscray.
The pair went on to have four other children – Margaret, John, Eddy and Joan – with whom they share a close relationship.
“We still have a family tradition of meeting with all the family every Sunday,” Margaret said.
“We gather at mum and dad’s place, and some weekends there could be as many as 24 of us.”
The couple celebrated the milestone with one of their traditional family lunches.
