"Making up is the best part," he jokes.

Johannes and wife Maria should know. They celebrated 60 years of wedded bliss last Friday.

The Bacchus Marsh residents were married in the Netherlands on August 20, 1950, after an 18-month courtship.

The bride and groom were just 17 and 20 respectively.

"We basically grew up together," Maria says.

Now 77 and 80, they look much younger.

"Love keeps you young," Johannes says.

Last Saturday, the couple threw a party to celebrate their milestone with extended family and friends.

But congratulations were already trickling in days before the celebration.

"We have had felicitations from Queen Elizabeth to Prime Minister Julia Gillard to the local member for Ballarat Catherine King," Johannes said.

The Van Ballekoms have six children, 13 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

The couple met while working in a hosiery mill in Brabant in the Netherlands.

"I liked her looks, her smile and her friendliness," Johannes says.

His wife says she noticed his beautiful hair and clothes. "He wore beautiful suits and the shoes were always polished."

Soon after they married, the couple moved to Australia for the "future of their children". "It was hard in Europe after World War II," Maria says.

But things were not easy in their new home either.

While Johannes had a smattering of English, his wife and children had to start from scratch.

"Johannes worked three jobs, " Maria says. "We went through some really tough times."

Johannes believes staying married has almost become a lost art.

"People are not committed to each other. It is too easy to break up if things go wrong.

"But you've got to give and take if you want to make it work."