How do we find that perfect partner?

Nevertheless, two thirds of all marriages came about through meetings at dances, at work and in private homes belonging to one of the families. Few would end up marrying the girl or boy next door or someone met at school.

A French survey a few years later showed that 17% of couples had met at a dance, 13% at work or study, while only 10% quoted meeting someone in their local neighbourhood as being the reason for their union. More recently on line dating has begun to play a role. A recent American survey showed that 15% of adults claimed to be using dating websites or Apps and that almost 60% thought it a good way to meet people yet only 5% said that was the way they had met their partner.

Another US study indicated that almost 45% of married couples were introduced to each other by a mutual friend, 33% lived near each other, 15% met at a party, 15% met at work and 15% at college.

So what about Australia? How do we find the perfect partner and how widely do we search? Many studies show that we seriously consider only marrying a very small number of people. People may meet by chance in night clubs, pubs, at the beach or football match or at a coffee place as well as at work and study places. In such cases they may well live a long way from each other and may not always have common friends and acquaintances.

Alternatively, people may meet in private homes, clubs or on the street or through networks of friends and relatives and in this case may live closer together. After World War 1 it became common for young people to meet in church or in neighbourhood "parades "up and down certain streets such as took place along the waterfront at Bondi, Australia's mini versions of the "corso".

Funnily enough it was the bicycle in the late 19^th century in many countries which revolutionised our ability to search for the ideal mate. No longer were people forced to choose from their small town or neighbourhood. Perhaps the horse and then the steam train played a similar role in much of Australia. . Personal mobility changed all that. Possibly we are experiencing something akin to this change with the role that the internet now plays in our lives.

There is also plenty of evidence to show that marriage for men and women in Australia now occurs at a much later age than say 20 years ago, leaving a much longer period for people to engage in the search for an ideal partner. Today, men and women marry in their early 30s a considerable change from 20 or so years ago when marriage occurred in the early 20s. In addition, an increasing number of Australian men and women now remain unmarried throughout their 30s and many beyond this age and an increasing number of Australians live together without legalising or formalising their union.