A TEENAGE romance turned lifelong love, Don and Alicia (Toni) Hein’s marriage is one filled with worldwide adventures and cultural experiences.
From the Blue Lake city to South East Asia, the couple has not wasted their time together, growing, exploring and learning about love, life and the world around them.
Beginning their relationship at the ages of 17 and 15, it was clear they were the perfect fit for each other as the love between them quickly blossomed.
“We may have been young, but it was not long before I knew she was the one for me,” Don said.
Five years later, on February 15, 1958, the couple were married and their adventures together really began.
Toni supported their growing family with work at The Border Watch in administration while Don finished high school and gained his teaching qualifications.
First working at the Mount Gambier High School and the Mount Gambier Technical High School, Don was then promoted to curator of art education at the Art Gallery of South Australia in 1970.
Seven years later Don gained a scholarship at the Post Graduate School of Archaeology at the Silpakorn University in Bangkok and began a long-term interest in Thai ceramics.
While he studied, Toni spent her time working with church groups and helping at an orphanage in Bangkok.
From 1980, Don and Toni began excavations on historic kiln sites in Thailand, living in tents with no electricity or running water in the village of Ban Ko Noi.
While Don was supervising the digging and excavation, Toni undertook the sorting of the shards.
With only secondary school education and no training in archaeology, these skills were entirely self-taught and soon became an indispensable part of the teamwork.
“We really enjoyed our work throughout Asia, the people were always very friendly and generous and would often bring us fruit,” Toni said.
“We were never threatened or treated badly and we even gained two beautiful daughters in law from Thailand.”
Over the following decades, excavations in Burma, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia were conducted and training was provided by Don to archaeologists from a number of Asian countries – a valuable passing on of his knowledge to new generations.
Opportunities also arose to assist with excavations at the Bendigo Chinese gold kilns and ceramic production in England.
“The people in Cambodia thought we were very brave to work in the area because of the mines and booby traps that were spread around,” Toni said.
“I remember seeing a sign about the digs we were doing and underneath there were warnings about the mines, we had a laugh when we read it.”
Conscious of the disadvantages surrounding them in the Asian communities, the couple strove to improve the lives of those they employed and the villages in which they lived by initiating scholarships for children to complete their schooling, pumping water, arranging for electricity to be connected, starting a pottery cottage industry and much more.
This year the inspiring couple celebrated 60 years together at the Ingle Farm Salvation Army with family and friends, including three surviving bridesmaids Joy Axleby, Joan Shaw, Judith Jones and best man Mervyn Hein.
Letters were read from the queen, governor general, prime minister and many other digitaries and demonstrations of the Gambell family musical trait were made by children and grandchildren.
Blessed to have reached the milestone, Toni said the answer to their happy marriage is compatibility and common interests.
“We have had a great life together, I think if a couple can survive living overseas among people of various cultures they can survive anything,” she said.
“It has certainly been an interesting life from our year travelling overland to England in a Volkswagen Kombi van with three children to our many years excavating in Thailand, Laos, Burma and Cambodia.
“We hope to have many more wonderful years together.”
