Council congratulates Manningtons on diamond anniversary

Pictured, right: Northern Grampians Shire mayor Karen Hyslop congratulates Stawell’s Delma and Tige Mannington on 60 years of marriage.

Stawell couple Tige and Delma Mannington have reflected on their lives together while celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary. 

The pair met while Tige, from Rupanyup, was studying to become a mechanic at Stawell Technical School. 

He was boarding a block away from where Delma, née Smith, lived with her parents in Kofoed Street. 

They would pass each other in the street, eventually started talking, and one day made a date to go to a carnival.  

As the story goes, it was not all smooth sailing, as Delma threatened to hit her date if he did not ‘calm down and stop being so cheeky’. 

They’ve been keeping each other on their toes ever since. 

Tige and Delma married on December 12, 1964, in the Church of England, Stawell. 

When asked if it felt like they had been together for 60 years, Delma joked, ‘It feels like 160 years’, while her husband quipped, ‘It feels like six life-sentences!’. 

Tige and Delma have enjoyed plenty of banter throughout the past six decades, as they raised their five daughters. 

The Manningtons owned Blue Star Motors for more than 20 years and enjoyed a strong interest in speedway. 

They both raced competitively – sometimes against each other – and were Victorian title-holders. 

"If I showed up and there weren't enough women to race against, I would have to race against the men – and they didn't easily beat me,” Delma said.  

The Manningtons are family-orientated and have 16 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren.  

Delma said she loved how intelligent young children were these days, which she attributed in part due to the number of activities and services they were offered.  

She said she loved how her youngest great-grandchild, three, did swimming lessons.  

“I wasn’t taught to swim – it wasn’t something they offered to you when I was a young girl,” she said.  

Delma and Tige celebrated their anniversary over lunch with daughters Della and Pam and their partners, who represented the wider Mannington clan.  

Northern Grampians Shire mayor Karen Hyslop delivered flowers to mark the occasion.  

“On behalf of council, I would like to congratulate the Manningtons on 60 years of marriage,” she said. 

“What a wonderful milestone.”