A Port Lincoln couple will celebrate 60 years of marriage on 15 January 2026, cultivating a partnership that has seen them raise four children while supporting each other’s passions and fulfilling careers.
Corrine and Barry Dennis met in the early 1960s at Lock and also lived in Arno Bay after retirement, before moving to Port Lincoln.
When Corrine left Adelaide to pursue her teaching career at Lock Primary School in 1963, she was unaware she would meet a “tall, dark and handsome” farmer who would soon become her husband.
“I knew absolutely nothing about farming other than from book learning really,” she said.
“Barry operated the local picture shows with the late Lawrie Clyde, he worked with him up in the box showing films.
“We went to all the dances up and down the coast and I played netball but Barry couldn’t play much sport as his commitment was with the farm – they were doing a lot of clearing and farm preparation.”
After a period of courting, the young couple married on 15 January 1966 at Malvern Methodist Church in Adelaide.
Corrine said she was drawn to Barry because he was a kind and thoughtful man.
“We teamed up well, we enjoyed the same sort of things and his family made me very welcome as did the Lock community,” she reminisced.
The newlyweds started their married life in a new home built for them on the family farm.
While Barry continued working the land, Corrine resumed her teaching career.
Their family grew quickly: first daughter Trudi was born in 1967, Karyn in 1969, Janine followed in 1973, and son Brett was born in 1975.
Barry worked the farm alongside his father, brother, nephews and Brett, all living in their own homes on the property and raising their children together.
Corrine taught continuously over the decades, including a stint at Tooligie Hill in a one-teacher school.
“Which I absolutely loved – the children were wonderful,” she recalled.
Lock became an area school, and Corrine spent much of her career there; she also spent time at Warramboo as an acting principal.
An avid gardener herself, Corrine said Barry’s passion was always country music, often travelling with friends to play in bands in regional areas across Eyre Peninsula.
“They’d go to country towns playing country music and entertaining the people who were in dire straits in drought,” she said.
“Back here in Lincoln they used to play at the Grove, Pioneer Village, they played at concerts and others joined and left.”
In 2003, the couple retired to Arno Bay and spent valuable time with friends before settling in Port Lincoln 15 years ago.
The children have grown and established lives and careers for themselves, which their parents are immensely proud of.
“We have four great-grandchildren and two by proxy we say,” Corrine laughed.
“And we’ve got nine grandchildren – so life’s pretty full.”
Barry continues to play his guitar at home, and Corrine can still be spotted working in the home garden.
