Ōtaki couple Alma and Arthur Ibbs have cut more wedding cakes than most people on the planet and they are still going strong after 70years. On the 27th of December 2024 Alma and Arthur celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with their children, grand children and great grandson.
Alma Meakin and Arthur Ibbs were married at Stoke Parish Church, Stoke-on-Trent, England on the 27th of December 1954 aged 18 and 20.
Arthur was a painter and Alma an office clerk and they came to New Zealand in 1967 for warmer weather and the health benefit of living in a sunnier climate, leaving behind nine siblings and their families between them. Two of Alma’s sisters had also settled in New Zealand.
Off for an adventure to the other side of the world on the ship called the Southern Cross. The journey on the ship took approximately 3 months with two young children in tow. Packing their possessions into just a few trunks they crossed the equator and on to a new life, one stop along the way was in Fiji before arriving in New Zealand.
During this journey they made some lifelong friends who they still keep in touch with. On settling in Ōtaki, they invited two single lads they met on the boat to stay until they decided where to settle. The lads moved on before the couple built their new home in Rangiuru Road.
Having the choice to settle in a couple of different places, they chose Ōtaki to settle in because of the climate and also because Arthur was sponsored by a local business, as he had a trade. He worked as a painter for years, then worked at Allenson’s Joinery Factory until retiring. Alma worked at the local veterinary clinic in Mill Road, then at Penray Gardens, and was a nanny for a couple of families before she too retired.
Bringing with them two sons Ian and Alan, aged 8 and 5, on the voyage from England they later had a daughter Lisa who arrived in 1969, born in Ōtaki, and adding a Kiwi to the family. All three children grew up and went to school in Ōtaki.
They have been in Ōtaki over 58 years. They bought a section on Rangiuru Road and built the home they still live in 55 years later. They love the little town they have called home for most of their lives and are still going strong in marriage 70 years later.
