FOR John and Salvina Mulholland, a lifetime of love has come with a fishing rod, a crab pot and plenty of stories from the water.
The Redland Bay couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on October 15, but their romance was hooked from their very first date – a crabbing and fishing trip at Victoria Point on the back of John’s motorbike.
“I met Salvina at the Belleview Hotel. I was an apprentice cook and she was a waitress,” Mr Mulholland said.
“On our first date, I took her to Victoria Point crabbing and fishing on the back of a motorbike.
“It cost me 10 shillings to hire the boat for the day, so it was a big day.
“We took the boat out to Coochiemudlo. We crabbed, we swam, we laughed. Nothing better.”
Fishing has remained the thread running through their marriage, from holidays and family outings to John’s working life.
After 21 years in the Army, Mr Mulholland spent another two decades aboard diving and fishing charter boats, first as a cook and later as a deckhand.
“I have taken so many people out fishing,” he said.
Some of his best memories were made off Wreck Reef, about 80 nautical miles off Bundaberg near the Continental Shelf.
“It takes about 30 hours to get there,” he said.
“That’s where you get the big fish – giant trevally, yellowfin tuna and blue spot cod. Blue spot cod is my favourite.”
Mr Mulholland caught his biggest giant trevally in the reefs of north Queensland, a fish measuring more than a metre, from a 25-metre boat.
“I let it go,” he laughed. “They don’t taste real good anyway.”
The couple moved to Redland Bay in 1983 after buying a block of land for $7000. They later bought a 5.2-metre Blue Fin boat with two bunks, keeping it until 2023.
Their adventures took them fishing off Cleveland and Redland Bay, deep-sea fishing near North Stradbroke and Moreton islands, and chasing bream, whiting and flathead around Peel Island.
“But I never took the boat outside the bar if Salvina was with me,” Mr Mulholland said.
Salvina said her husband had always loved the outdoors, having been a lifeguard and keen on bushwalking, scuba diving, surfing, camping and four-wheel driving.
“But it’s fishing we like the best,” she said.
The Mulhollands marked their milestone anniversary with dinner at Victoria Point Sharks Sporting Club, surrounded by the family they have built together – five children, 13 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
