Norm and Sue fell in love as teenagers (top), were separated by war (above right) and finally got engaged in Daly Waters (left).
The news this week that the Daly Waters Pub had been sold has no doubt triggered an avalanche of traveller memories, but surely no grey nomad has a more special or more poignant connection with the iconic Northern Territory hostelry than Norm and Sue Austin.
It was in this unlikely Outback setting that the couple’s incredible love story reached a romantic climax worthy of any Hollywood movie.
The pair first fell in love as teenagers, but fate – and the Vietnam War – was to change the course of their lives. Norm was conscripted into the army and sent to Vietnam in May, 1966. Just a few months later, he broke Sue’s heart when he wrote breaking off their relationship. Although she received another letter weeks later saying he had changed his mind, things somehow things didn’t seem the same between them.
“Norm returned home but was unable to talk about his experiences and I could not understand the changes in him or in myself,” said Sue. “In early 1969, Norm asked me to marry him but I was confused about my feelings of doubt and told him I thought it was too late.”
The couple went their separate ways and married other people. However, when Sue’s marriage ended in 1996 she began to reminisce, and eventually tracked down Norm’s address and found the courage to write.
There was no response for a long time but, on Valentine’s Day 2002, she received a red envelope with the letters ‘SWALK’ on the back seal.
“That is how we used to seal every letter between us,” said Sue. “It had been hand delivered and inside the envelope was a romantic Valentine’s Day Card, and letter from Norm.”
The couple then met for the first time in 30 years.
“Although he now had a ‘goatee’ beard covering the cute dimple that I remembered on his chin,” said Sue. “I knew him straight away.”
With the passage of time, Norm was finally able to tell Sue about his Vietnam experience and explain why he had written ‘that letter’ breaking off their relationship all those years ago … and finally she was able to understand.
Norm was in the Tactical Operations Centre during the conflict. Over a period of months, the ‘enemy’ fired regular mortar attacks over the Australian base leading up to the dreadful attack that became known as the ‘Battle of Long Tan’.
The letter had been written the morning after that battle.
“Norm became aware that he might not survive his time in Vietnam,” said Sue. “He did not want me dedicating my life to his memory if the worst outcome became reality.”
Up until this point, Sue had not been aware that Norm had been exposed to real danger as he had always led her to believe that he was ‘safe’.
The couple slowly got to know each other again and when, in February 2003, Sue was diagnosed with breast cancer, followed by cervical cancer, they decided to grab whatever opportunities life had to offer.
Sue embraced Norm’s passion for camping and, in the following years, they explored the country together. In 2009, their travels led them once again to one of their favourite spots, the Daly Waters Pub.
“After the usual ‘Beef and Barra’ feast, we were relaxing and enjoying the entertainment when Norm distracted me,” said Sue. “And in a much less romantic setting than the first time all those years ago, he asked me again to marry him.”
This time, Sue didn’t hesitate.
Incredibly, the ring that Norm gave Sue was the one he had bought decades earlier while in Bangkok on R and R from Vietnam and which he had intended to give her when he asked for her hand the first time.
“To think that he has kept it all these years leaves me speechless,” said Sue, who finally married her first love in 2010. “We are just full of happiness … and looking forward to spending the rest of our lives sharing our adventures together.”
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What a beautiful story !
You could make a movie about them.