Community & Business
19 August, 2026
When Harry met Esther
ESTHER and Harry Grogan are at it again. Happily celebrating their life together with a huge mob of family and friends as they mark their 70th wedding anniversary this month.
“They just keep on going strong,” eldest son Wayne Grogan said last week with a huge grin.
“You know the story of how they met, but when mum tells it she says, ‘I just took one look and said, ‘that’s him, he’s mine!’”
Two years ago, more than 100 people arrived in Mareeba to celebrate the couple’s 68th anniversary. The success of that occasion has sparked the latest event which will be held this Saturday to congratulate the couple on their amazing life journey.
“It was a great day to be part of the celebration and see all of the family together,” Wayne said. “So, we’ll be doing it again”.
The couple, who also turned 92 this year, have a story of romance, hard work and historic milestones which began when they met in Sydney in the 1950s.
Esther, from Walcha in New South Wales, met Harry, who had come from Far North Queensland’s Mona Mona Mission. Both were working in Newtown. They used to pass by on the street.
“Mum knew from the first time she saw him,” Wayne said.
When they were eventually introduced by a cousin, they immediately began courting and were married on 4 August 1956 at Armidale Presbyterian Church and lived in Sydney.
Harry was an up-and-coming boxer – undefeated in his first four bouts at the Sydney Stadium in front of record crowds, making the front cover of The Ring Magazine in October 1955, and by September 1957, winning the Australian Welterweight Title.
In late 1958, the couple and their young family travelled up the east coast with the Sharman Boxing Troupe and eventually settled back in the north.
They bought their first home in Kuranda, before moving to Cairns and buying their next home. They then returned to the Tablelands, settling at their family home in Hodzic Road, Mareeba.
They are still living together with family at Rocky Top, Fichera Road, Mareeba.
