COOLANGATTA couple Ann and Owen Kinnane will celebrate 70 years of marriage this month.

Mrs Kinnane said they while didn't have a secret to marriage success, they always got on well together.

Mr Kinnane added that the two just seemed to melt together and shared absolutely everything in life.

He was born in Ipswich in 1920 and at age 20 was set to make history as a lightweight boxer when he qualified for the Australian team to represent the country at the Helsinki Olympic Games of 1940.

Mr Kinnane was the unofficial Australian title holder in his weight division and said he concentrated on speed.

"I wasn't bad," he said.

Unfortunately, the Second World War interfered and the Helsinki games were cancelled, however, two years later he won an even bigger prize than the Olympic Gold Medal he trained for when he married Annie-Burt Shearer on August 29, 1942.

Mr Kinnane

started work as a train driver with Queensland Railways in 1938 and the company moved the couple from Ipswich to Bundaberg, to Mareeba, Brisbane and Alpha.

Mrs Kinnane also ran the family's own general store in North Ipswich and worked with the St Vincent de Paul Society and numerous nursing homes in the area.

When Mr Kinnane retired in 1985, the couple moved to Coolangatta and became avid bowlers with the South Tweed Bowls Club where they continued to play until recently.

The couple will celebrate their magnificent achievement with family at a lunch in Coolangatta where their 11 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren will hopefully be present to congratulate the couple with their platinum anniversary.