Watts love all about
Mon 14 May 2007
Sarah Rex, Journalism
Norman Watts is one determined man. Not only was he determined to follow his own dream job, he was determined to marry the girl of his dreams. And he found her in Edna Whittle.
The pair met on September 24, 1949 on a blind date set up by mutual friends, John and Beryl McFarlane.
"We’ve always been the best of mates," Edna said, over a cup of coffee at her Maroochy Waters canal home recently.
"When I first saw him I thought, he’s a nice sort of fellow to go out with, but I didn’t expect to get married to him.
“He thought I was old fashioned because I wore stockings. Stockings were scarce after the war," she adds with a laugh.
Though Edna needed a little convincing that Norman was the man for her, he took one look at Edna and knew his destiny.
He said of his wife of 56 years: "When I first saw her I thought, what a lovely girl... We went to the movies. I think I fell in love with her then and I still love her."
Edna giggles when she remembers what happened next.
"The following week because it was my 17th birthday I got a box of chocolates and a corsage of roses [from Norm]," she said.
Norman and Edna were married on December 22, 1951.
They started their family one year later with the arrival of daughter, Karen.
Norman was an apprentice Pastry Chef when he met Edna and later opened his own business, Watts Cooking, in Sydney.
"My father and brother worked in the dock yard and my father wanted me to work in the dock yard...” Norman recalled.
“I said: ‘no way am I going to work in the dock yard, I’m going to do what I want to do’ and that was pastry cooking," Norman said matter-of-factly.
Norman opened his first bakery in Dulwich Hill, Sydney, and Edna worked in the business alongside her man.
"I reckon he looked at me and thought: ‘She can carry pies around, this girl’," Edna said, jokingly, before adding that she certainly carried around her fair share of pies after they opened a further two Watts Cooking cake shops in Eastwood, Sydney.
It seems Edna and Norman have always enjoyed living, working and playing together, as they also worked together on a milk run in Avalon.
"We worked together on a milk run in Avalon for 18 months when we were between cake shops. We have never been apart, only visits to the hospital," Edna said.
In 1970 Edna and Norman moved to Palm Beach (aka Summer Bay on Channel Seven’s Home and Away) and then moved up to Maroochydore in 1990 with their family.
"We now live on the water and are very happy," Edna said.
When asked what the secret to a long and successful marriage was, Edna said: "Laughter, trust, working things out together and being able to communicate."
Norman, ever the romantic, adds: "You must love a person if you’re gonna get anywhere. There’s nothing that’s insurmountable... Everyday I wake up and I think I am very lucky to be with Edna."
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Submitted Comments
Loved reading the story of how you met. I married in 1958 and have 3 daughters the middle one named Karen. I liked the coincidence. Good luck.
Edna Coleman (nee Whittle)