Who was the leader of Cuba for 49 years from 1959-2008?

60 years strong

Stefan Bradley

SALE’S newest Diamond Jubilee couple are Mary and Les Jackson, both 84-years-old, who will celebrate 60 years of marriage this Thursday, January 26. What’s the secret to a long happy marriage? For Mr and Mrs Jackson, born the same month in August 1938, it simply boils down to enjoying activities together. “I believe you’ve got to have shared interests,” Les says. “We’ve done a lot of things. Whether that be playing golf, playing bowls, enjoying travel. “Or working in the garden. But that’s an exception, because I’m not too keen on that one,” Les laughed. Mary said they were very lucky to enjoy going out and staying active at their age. “We did a lot of bike riding in the past. We did a bike ride through Vietnam, China and Burma,” she said. “We ran the hospital bike ride (Central Gippsland Health Bike Ride) for 17 years, and raised over $100,000 for the hospital.” “We lived in Nepal for five months as volunteers... we decided that if we were to do anything in our lives to give back to a human being, we’d go there. They’re very gentle people and they care. “Les taught small kids computer and English skills, and I worked in the nearby hospital as a nurse...in Kathmandu. “And also, we walked to Everest base camp. We like to travel and have seen a lot of the world. We’ve been really lucky.” Mary and Les have another amazing memory: carrying the 2006 Commonwealth Games baton in Melbourne. “One of my staff at work recommended us to carry the Commonwealth Games baton, and we both did,” Mary said. “She just said she’d put us down, I think because of our service in the community and overseas, and I said ‘you’ve got to be joking’. Anyhow, we got to do it.” Les carried the baton and gave it to Mary, who gave it to the priest. There’s a duplicate of the baton in the couple’s home. Les used to be a carpenter, and then became a trade teacher in a tech system. He retired in 1997. But Mary loved being a nurse so much - she kept working until 2009. Mary was born in the Victorian town of Corryong, and Les in Myrtleford. They first met at a dance in Wangaratta, where Mary was doing her general nurse training. It’s a very long time ago, but Les said he believed the year was 1960, when he was still living in Myrtleford. “We used to play football at various places around the north east (of Victoria). And then we’d usually come back to Wangaratta and go to the dance that night. And that’s where we met,” Les said. “I went to another dance, a church dance, during the next week I think it was. I took Mary home from there and was pretty keen on her, ever after.” Many married couples can recall the moment the proposal was made and accepted. Les said there was no formal proposition for the engagement in 1962. He doesn’t think that was common in Australian culture at the time. “I didn’t get down on one knee or anything like that. We just talked about getting married,” Les said. “Mary was in Melbourne doing her midwifery certificate at that time. And I was down in Melbourne, and we just went and bought the ring from a jeweller. “Probably cost me a few weeks wages at the time,” Les said with a smile. After getting engaged in 1962 on January 26, the pair were married exactly one year later on January 26, 1963 at St David’s Church in Albury. The Jacksons had two kids, Michelle (1966) and Anthony (1975), and three grandchildren. Anthony works at Jetstar. Their daughter Michelle made her parents very proud, as she worked hard to get a law degree with honours from Melbourne University. Tragically, Michelle died in a skiing accident in 1995, aged 28. Mary said it was a very tough time for them as parents, but they had each other to help get through it. “It was horrible for Anthony, and it was horrible for Michelle’s husband too,” Mary said. “Michelle was a solicitor. It was one of our joys in life that she got into Melbourne Law School. She became a senior associate very young.” Les and Mary celebrated January 26 as their anniversary decades before it was officially declared Australia Day in 1994. They will be saving the big party for the weekend, with about 80 people at the Sale Bowls Clubs, where Mary is on the executive committee. After more than 50 years living in the town, there’s plenty to reminisce about. “We only intended to stay in Sale for two years,” Mary said. “We stayed in Sale because we loved the area. We loved the mountain and we loved the sea. It was good for the kids to be educated here.

Mary and Les Jackson got married on January 26 1963. Photo: Contributed

“Someone asked when I retired if we were going somewhere else. And I said no, because we’ve lived most of our lives here, so we’ll always be here.” Les said the sporting facilities in the town have always been great. “They’ve put a lot of money into things like the gym and swimming pool, and sporting fields,” he said. “We’ve been pleased to live in the Sale community for 55 years.” Mary doesn’t think the area has changed that much over the five decades. “It’s still a country area. The people are very supportive of one another. If you lived in Melbourne... you don’t really get to know your next door neighbour,” she said. “In a community like this, you know a lot of people, or we know a lot of people. I think we’re really lucky. “If someone asks you to go somewhere or do something, just do it. I think it’s very important to be part of the community.” During the Black Summer bushfires of 2019/20, Mary and Les kindly took in fire evacuees into their home, demonstrating their dedication to community and kindness. And today, Mary and Les are happy to be involved with the Sale Hospital, Sale Bowls Club, Red Cross, Rotary Club and the Ambulance Auxiliary to keep themselves busy. There will be even more memories to reflect on during their Platinum Jubilee in 10 years time.

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Progress update on the abandonment plans for Esso Australia’s Gudgeon-1 and Terakihi-1 exploration wells in the Gippsland Basin

Community Consultation Session

As operator of some of Australia’s oldest oil and gas fields, Esso Australia is committed to decommissioning our Bass Strait offshore facilities safely and effectively. We have substantial experience in safely and effectively decommissioning facilities to achieve positive outcomes across the globe, and we are excited to be part of Australia’s growing decommissioning industry. As part of our decommissioning activities, Esso Australia is planning to undertake offshore work to plug and abandon (P&A) two exploration wells, Gudgeon-1 and Terakihi-1, which are located approximately 85 kilometres off the Gippsland coastline in water depths of approximately 300-400 metres. The proposed plan will see P&A well activities undertaken by the Helix Q7000 Light Well Intervention Vessel, which operates in accordance with current international safety and environmental standard. No seismic activity will be required. The wells are not located within any established or proposed Commonwealth or State Marine Protected Areas, Critical Habitats or Threatened Ecological Communities. It is recognised that the proposed activities will overlap with existing fisheries with the establishment of a 500-metre Petroleum Safety Zone (PSZ) around both Gudgeon-1 and Terakihi-1 subsea wells.

This work is imperative to our decommissioning efforts, as it will eliminate the potential risk of loss of hydrocarbon containment and will remove obstructions and snag points for fishing and future users of the sea. Esso Australia has evaluated potential impacts and risks to the marine environment occurring from proposed activities. You can read our control measures in our Exploration Well Plug and Abandonment bulletin, which can be found here: https:// www.exxonmobil.com.au/-/media/australia/files/energy-andenvironment/upstream-operations/gudgeon-1-and-terakihi1-fact-sheet.pdf Prior to commencing and throughout our decommissioning activities, we have continued to identify and actively engage with key stakeholders across the Gippsland region. This ongoing consultation has played an essential role in how we align our approach and ensure the essential work that we are undertaking meets the community’s needs and expectations. If you would like to learn more about our decommissioning process and the approach we are considering for the plug and abandonment of Gudgeon-1 and Terakihi-1, we welcome you to come along to one of our two community information sessions we are hosting in Sale, Victoria. Please see details below.

Session 1 Date: Wednesday February 15, 2023, Time: 12pm – 1pm Location: The Drawing Room at The Criterion (90 Macalister Street, Sale Victoria 3850)

Session 2 Date: Wednesday February 15, 2023 Time: 5:30pm – 6:30pm Location: The Drawing Room at The Criterion (90 Macalister Street, Sale Victoria 3850)