In short:
Shannon Wyatt and Murray Holcombe found love through their fathers’ schoolyard friendship and the Ekka’s annual matchmaking event.
Ms Wyatt is a dairy farmer from Scenic Rim and Mr Holcombe is a boilermaker in Brisbane.
What’s next?
The 2024 Ekka wraps up on Sunday.
It was an improbable series of coincidences that led Scenic Rim dairy farmer Shannon Wyatt and Brisbane tradie Murray Holcombe to fall in love.
It had been several years since Ms Wyatt had been in a serious relationship so the eligible bachelorette decided to volunteer at the Singles Mingles event at last year’s Ekka show.
The agriculture show’s yearly event connects “city slickers” with farmers wanting for a wife or husband.
A few days prior to the event, Mr Holcombe was throwing a birthday party for his 70-year-old father.
The Brisbane boilermaker found himself sitting next to Ms Wyatt’s father, who went to the same high school as his father.
Ms Wyatt’s father mentioned his daughter was attending the Singles Mingles event and he could come meet her if he’d like.
“Unfortunately I couldn’t make it to the night but as luck would have it our fathers did some matchmaking,” Mr Holcombe said.
After the party Ms Wyatt’s father told his daughter about the strapping young man he met the other day and suggested she should pass on her number.
Their first phone call lasted over three hours, and they continued to call each other over the coming weeks.
Eventually they decided to meet up at a pub near Mr Holcombe’s house, where they instantly hit it off.
“It started off as a drink and we were only meant to meet up for a very short period of time, which led to three hours,” Ms Wyatt said.
“I think we were sitting there for so long that we were given free chicken wings.”
The couple have been together ever since and are about to celebrate their nine-month anniversary.
The Singles Mingles event is run by magician hypnotist juggler, Tony Laffan.
Despite the weather, Mr Laffan said this year’s one-day event had 250 love seekers in attendance.
“They were very stand-offish and coy, but then they started doing the bush dancing and everyone had their first drink free,” Mr Laffan said.
“We’ll know in a few months how that goes.”
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