The Ararat residents celebrated their Emerald Anniversary on Thursday and were honoured with flowers and two certificates of congratulations, one from Ararat Rural City Council mayor Councillor Peter Beales and the other from Member for Ripon Louise Staley.

The pair met when they were very young and both living in Maryborough.

"We knew each other for a long time, because my brothers used to knock around with John," Mrs Young said.

"I was about 12 and I couldn't stand him."

But that eventually changed. 

"When I was 17 and he was 18, he came to board at our place and we just got together and that was it," Mrs Young said.

"Something worked," Mr Young said.

They got married at the Church of Christ in Maryborough before moving to Ararat five years later for work.

Eventually, the pair had four children, Jenny, David, Paul and Rachel, and Mrs Young said they based their family life on a set of strong principles. 

"The main thing is respect for one another," she said.

"Trusting one another, be honest, have a sense of humour. 

"We found that a lot of people that get married squabble about their money and it all breaks up.

"It's something we've always shared - we've always pooled our money and we don't argue about it.

"We'll give it to our family if we've got it and if we don't have it they don't get it."

Mr and Mrs Young said they had passed all of their principles onto their children, which Mrs Young had inherited from her own mother.

"She had very strong values. She drummed it into me as a child and I've never forgotten - respect people," she said.

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