John was a sheep and beef farmer at Maitland, near Gore. Ethel said Maitland was a marvellous place to bring up their three children - Paul, David and Annette.
"There was Sunday School, there was the Presbyterian church, there was Boys' Brigade, Girls' Brigade."
In the 1970s, the Johnston family moved to a farm at Clarence Bridge, a small settlement about 25km north of Kaikoura.
At the time, there was only a primary school in the area. After that, the options were sending their children to boarding school or driving them to Blue Duck Valley, about halfway to Kaikoura, every day to meet a school bus to travel to Kaikoura High School.
The couple took the latter option and later got their bus driver licences, and a bus run, and worked as school bus drivers for many years, as well as running the farm.
During their time at Clarence Bridge, they became involved in many different community activities and served on various committees.
Ethel also joined the local croquet club in Kaikoura and has continued to play and coach ever since.
In the 90s, they sold the farm and moved to Waianakarua, south of Herbert. They farmed there for about 20 years, before retiring to Weston about two years ago.
Ethel insisted they were just "ordinary, garden-variety" people. She attributed their long marriage to "a bit of give and take" and having different interests.
John is a passionate sports and outdoorsman. When he was living in Southland, he played cricket and representative rugby for Eastern Southland, and he remains a keen deerstalker and duck-shooter.
Their wedding in May 1961 was two days before duck-shooting opening day, John still managed to sneak off to his pond that year — he never missed opening day.
Ethel is a life member of Awamoa Gardens Croquet Club and still plays regularly. She also enjoys baking and cooking.
The Johnstons celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary early, with a surprise family get-together, organised by their children, last month.
