On this day in 1971, The Canberra Times reported on the marriage of the Australian National University Law professor Geoffory Sawer and teacher, artist and writer Nancy Parker.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Despite being an illustrious Canberran couple, the pair chose to tie the knot in a small, austere, ceremony.
The marriage took place In a small office of the Registrar of Birth, Deaths and Marriages.
During the ceremony the telephone in the office was left off the hook to avoid any interruptions.
The choice of venue was made by Mrs Sawer who said the official marriage room looked "too much like a crematorium".
Not dissimilar to the truncated wedding ceremonies earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic the guest list was limited to three witnesses.
They included Parker's father Mr E. Bolton, and two relatives of Professor Sawer, Hugh and Mary Groube.
The couple said they would split their time between Professor Sawer's Deakin property and Mrs Sawer's house in the NSW South Coast.
As a couple with modern sensibilities for 1971, they told The Canberra Times they would divide the cooking between them.
After their quiet ceremony the pair celebrated with sherries at Professor Sawer's house, a lunch at a restaurant. They planned a honeymoon down the coast for the weekend.
Both Professor and Mrs Sawer were contributors to The Canberra Times as book reviewers.
Professor Sawer was Professor of Law at the Australian National University. He started working at the university in 1950.
Professor Sawer briefly served as a pro-vice chancellor in 1975. The ANU runs the Geoffery Sawer lecture annually in his honour.
Mrs Sawer was an art teacher at Canberra Grammar. She illustrated a number of children's books and exhibited paintings and prints. Shewrote books including the short story collection Traveling Alone and Other Stories.
