50 of the best years

AN OFFICER couple who emigrated to Australia from Holland have notched up their 50th wedding anniversary.
Phonse and Margot van den Acker celebrated the milestone last fortnight with a lunch at Jack’s at Jindivick and a family gathering in Officer.
The couple married in Holland’s province of North Brabant in 1959and ended up at a pro-perty, with a lemon orchard, in Pakenham Upper soon after.
There they had five children – Michael, Bernadette, Phonse, Nicole and Monique – before moving to Officer in 1967. A sixth child, Emma, was born there.
The van den Ackers’ Officer property was a dairy farm until the early 1970s, then beef cattle were run on the property.
Mr and Mrs van den Acker enjoyed their anniversary immensely, celebrating with their six children and partners, 14 grandchildren and other family and friends.