Having just celebrated his 99th birthday, Leslie Arthur Luke has had an interesting life.
Growing up in the Murray region, Mr Luke defines the term ‘born and bred’.
He’s almost spent a century in the Murray region, and during that time has witnessed a lot of change.
Fondly known as Les around town, Mr Luke’s life has been defined by his strong work ethic and jolly laugh.
He married his wife Val 71 years ago, and she has played an instrumental role throughout his life, alongside his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Born on February 23, 1918 in Swan Hill, Mr Luke was raised, schooled and married in the town.
Mr Luke was fostered out to family in Kerang when he was six, after the passing of his mother.
His father remarried, and soon after Mr Luke returned to his family farm in Swan Hill, which was located on River Road.
It was during this time that he struck a strong bond with Val, who he refers to as ‘the one’.
“Val was the girl next door, more or less, her family lived farther down the road,” Mr Luke said.
“I used to go there and of course Val was only little then, but I thought she was going to be the one, she was a pretty little girl.”
Val was the youngest in her family and was about 16 years old when the pair began to date.
“We started going to the pictures and dancing, and we danced until about eight or nine years ago,” Ms Luke said.
“We did ballroom dancing two or three times a week, that has helped us live so long.”
The pair waltzed together even through the overshadowing of the Second World War, when many of the airman stationed at Lake Boga came to Swan Hill for social events and dancing, much to Mr Luke’s dismay.
“They all used to come up and go to the dances too,” he said.
“Val was in a bit of demand, I was a bit concerned.”
The pair married in Swan Hill shortly after World War Two, when Les was 28 and Val nearly 20.
Mr Luke’s conscription marked the first and only time he ventured away from the region; undertaking home defence training in Bendigo and Seymour.
“I was in the army for six months,” he said.
For more on this story, check out Wednesday’s Guardian (February 08)
