\u201cThey don\u2019t go and sit down. They stand there,\u201d Bruce said.<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t wearing his glad rags and, instead, had his red-and-black bush shirt on. <\/p>\n
But that didn\u2019t seem to deter Beverley. When Bruce plucked up the courage to ask Beverley to dance, he could see her mind \u201cticking over\u201d.<\/p>\n
It turned out that Beverley needed a ride home.<\/p>\n
She had ridden her bicycle to the dance and would have had to bike about 6km home in \u201cpitch black\u201d afterwards.<\/p>\n
Beverley accepted, and the two took to the dance floor.<\/p>\n
But it wasn\u2019t until the dance partners bumped into a mutual friend, who confirmed Bruce was \u201ca nice guy\u201d, that Beverley made up her mind about her new beau.<\/p>\n
She asked him for a ride home, and Bruce delivered her safely.<\/p>\n
Bruce and Beverley looking at a photo from their wedding day. Photo \/ Kelly O’Hara<\/p>\n
Bruce returned to Beverley\u2019s home on his motorcycle the next day to see how she was. <\/p>\n
Her father greeted him with \u201cThat\u2019s a nice motorbike you\u2019ve got there\u201d, and invited him on a hunting trip.<\/p>\n
So off they went on a two-day deer hunting trip around Mt Ruapehu.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hunted around and looked everywhere, but we never saw an animal there.\u201d<\/p>\n
He may not have found any deer, but he did win Beverley\u2019s heart. <\/p>\n
The couple were married in Stratford in 1951.<\/p>\n
Bruce said it \u201crained like hell\u201d on their wedding day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pouring, and when we came out [of the church], it was sunny.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bruce and Beverley on their wedding day.<\/p>\n
Reminiscing about their youth, Bruce said Beverley was \u201cbright and switched on\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cFast on her feet. She could do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
They were always \u201cfirst on the floor\u201d at the town dances. <\/p>\n
Bruce said their favourite dance was the quick step.<\/p>\n
The same year they were married, the couple moved to the Waikato, then Rotorua in 1962 and Tauranga in 1992, where they have been since. <\/p>\n
The Bay of Plenty Times asked Bruce what had drawn the couple together.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirstly, I had a motorbike,\u201d Bruce joked. <\/p>\n
But there was an element of truth to the joke. Motorcycles became a lifelong passion for the couple \u2013 and later, their children. <\/p>\n
Bruce taught Beverley how to ride. He would put his legs down when the motorcycle stopped because Beverley\u2019s legs were too short. <\/p>\n
Throughout their lives, Beverley owned three motorcycles of her own, while Bruce had 30. <\/p>\n
Bruce and Beverley have four sons: Geoffrey, Stephen, Paul, and Neil.<\/p>\n
The pair had four sons, all of whom inherited their parents\u2019 love for motorcycles. They also have 11 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n