My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
Apr 18th 2008, 2:40 am
#1
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Joined: Feb 2008
Location: Lorne. Victoria
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My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
My father was a miner and we lived in a wee coal mining village in Ayrshire
Scotland, we were working poor I suppose you could call us. Well fed, clean and tidy but every half penny had to be watched. My mother’s sister had migrated to Australia in 1953 and due to some hard times at the pit my parents decided they too would “go to Australia” I was about 12 or so at the time and this is my recollection of that time
I can’t actually remember when we (two younger sisters and I were told we were leaving Scotland. I cannot remember having any anger about leaving friends or any great sense of excitement; though I am sure there must have been both. I do remember becoming very important in the school yard as we were the first family to migrate to the other side of the world; an earlier departure was a family in the village who had emigrated to Canada.
Mam and Da seemed to do a lot of trips to Glasgow (all by public transport of course) for interviews, and there were trips to Ayr for medicals and x-rays for all of us, the local doctor did the vaccinations (smallpox was the one I remember getting ,). When we got the OK to migrate things had to be sold off as there was a very strict limit of what could be taken on the ship. The same thing happened then to my family, as some of you have recently experienced when you left UK. People popped in and “bought” things promising to send the money – none of it ever received no cheap and adequate telephone service or email then to chase these debts up. Contact to “back home” was by letter only - delivery time for those letters was 5 to 6 weeks.
We did the rounds of goodbyes to family and friends in Scotland, and then headed down South by train to Sussex to say goodbye to family and friends in that part of the country. Then finally off to Southampton to board our means of transport to the other side of the world – an old ex troop ship converted to a migrant ship and named the “New Australia”. At the time it all seemed exciting and luxurious; imagine us, a wee family from Ayrshire on this “big boat”. First obstacle, due to the fact they needed to pack as many people on board as possible, men and women were separated in regards to sleeping arrangements. Girls and boys under eight slept in the women’s quarters of the ship. The men and older boys slept in another section of the ship. This didn’t really affect us as children, how it was for mam and da I am not sure. I have no really bad memories of the trip except mam was seasick a lot, and I was too for a wee while. But the food was plentiful with lots of choice and they kept us amused with games, books, films, dances, and talks about Australia. The trip took 6 weeks; we sailed through the Suez Canal, stopped off in Colombo for a day to reload (now Sri Lanka) and had a stop WA where the first lot of now “immigrants” disembarked. I remember Freeo that April, it was a disgustingly hot day and an extremely warm night, and thinking to myself “if this is Australia in the autumn what the hell is it going to be like in the summer!!” We finally arrived in Melbourne in early May, mam and da had 10 pounds sterling in their pockets, not a penny more.
Now I must point out at this time we were fortunate as we had been sponsored by my mam’s sister who was already living in Victoria so that’s where we were headed. But some of the other migrants who had no sponsors did not really have a choice where they would settle; my aunt for instance wanted to live in NSW but was settled in Victoria where there was work. Not one of my aunt’s or my own family had or was issued with a passport, according to my aunt your means of identification was your ration book, you handed this over when you got on board the ship. At the other end, you were sorted out, those who did not have a sponsor were put on trains or buses and taken to immigration hostels. These were usually converted Nissan huts; each family had a couple of bedrooms and a small living area. All meals were prepared by hostel staff and served in the communal dining room, The showers and toilets were communal. The camps housed numerous nationalities, Brits, Dutch, Germans, then Italians and Greeks. Did they get on well together? in a word no. There were many disagreements and fights mainly between the Brits and the Germans. People stayed in the hostel for up to a year or until they got a council house or rented other accommodation. The rule of immigration was, if you came under the 10 pound immigration scheme, you had to stay in Australia for two years, if you left before then you had, to not only pay for your trip back, but also the cost of the passage out. But as I said we were fortunate, we moved in with my aunt, it was crowded, but we managed and we did get a council house after six or so months. Life’s adventure in Oz was about to begin
Scotland, we were working poor I suppose you could call us. Well fed, clean and tidy but every half penny had to be watched. My mother’s sister had migrated to Australia in 1953 and due to some hard times at the pit my parents decided they too would “go to Australia” I was about 12 or so at the time and this is my recollection of that time
I can’t actually remember when we (two younger sisters and I were told we were leaving Scotland. I cannot remember having any anger about leaving friends or any great sense of excitement; though I am sure there must have been both. I do remember becoming very important in the school yard as we were the first family to migrate to the other side of the world; an earlier departure was a family in the village who had emigrated to Canada.
Mam and Da seemed to do a lot of trips to Glasgow (all by public transport of course) for interviews, and there were trips to Ayr for medicals and x-rays for all of us, the local doctor did the vaccinations (smallpox was the one I remember getting ,). When we got the OK to migrate things had to be sold off as there was a very strict limit of what could be taken on the ship. The same thing happened then to my family, as some of you have recently experienced when you left UK. People popped in and “bought” things promising to send the money – none of it ever received no cheap and adequate telephone service or email then to chase these debts up. Contact to “back home” was by letter only - delivery time for those letters was 5 to 6 weeks.
We did the rounds of goodbyes to family and friends in Scotland, and then headed down South by train to Sussex to say goodbye to family and friends in that part of the country. Then finally off to Southampton to board our means of transport to the other side of the world – an old ex troop ship converted to a migrant ship and named the “New Australia”. At the time it all seemed exciting and luxurious; imagine us, a wee family from Ayrshire on this “big boat”. First obstacle, due to the fact they needed to pack as many people on board as possible, men and women were separated in regards to sleeping arrangements. Girls and boys under eight slept in the women’s quarters of the ship. The men and older boys slept in another section of the ship. This didn’t really affect us as children, how it was for mam and da I am not sure. I have no really bad memories of the trip except mam was seasick a lot, and I was too for a wee while. But the food was plentiful with lots of choice and they kept us amused with games, books, films, dances, and talks about Australia. The trip took 6 weeks; we sailed through the Suez Canal, stopped off in Colombo for a day to reload (now Sri Lanka) and had a stop WA where the first lot of now “immigrants” disembarked. I remember Freeo that April, it was a disgustingly hot day and an extremely warm night, and thinking to myself “if this is Australia in the autumn what the hell is it going to be like in the summer!!” We finally arrived in Melbourne in early May, mam and da had 10 pounds sterling in their pockets, not a penny more.
Now I must point out at this time we were fortunate as we had been sponsored by my mam’s sister who was already living in Victoria so that’s where we were headed. But some of the other migrants who had no sponsors did not really have a choice where they would settle; my aunt for instance wanted to live in NSW but was settled in Victoria where there was work. Not one of my aunt’s or my own family had or was issued with a passport, according to my aunt your means of identification was your ration book, you handed this over when you got on board the ship. At the other end, you were sorted out, those who did not have a sponsor were put on trains or buses and taken to immigration hostels. These were usually converted Nissan huts; each family had a couple of bedrooms and a small living area. All meals were prepared by hostel staff and served in the communal dining room, The showers and toilets were communal. The camps housed numerous nationalities, Brits, Dutch, Germans, then Italians and Greeks. Did they get on well together? in a word no. There were many disagreements and fights mainly between the Brits and the Germans. People stayed in the hostel for up to a year or until they got a council house or rented other accommodation. The rule of immigration was, if you came under the 10 pound immigration scheme, you had to stay in Australia for two years, if you left before then you had, to not only pay for your trip back, but also the cost of the passage out. But as I said we were fortunate, we moved in with my aunt, it was crowded, but we managed and we did get a council house after six or so months. Life’s adventure in Oz was about to begin
Apr 18th 2008, 2:49 am
#2
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Joined: Jan 2005
Location: The Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia
Posts: 11,056
Re: My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
Great stuff - looking forward to part two. 
Apr 18th 2008, 2:52 am
#3
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Joined: Jun 2003
Location: Sydney beachside
Posts: 3,505
Re: My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
Thanks for that - it was a geat read.
Hope you'll tell us what happened next.
Hope you'll tell us what happened next.
Apr 18th 2008, 2:54 am
#4
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Joined: Nov 2005
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Posts: 4,808
Re: My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
My father was a miner and we lived in a wee coal mining village in Ayrshire
Scotland, we were working poor I suppose you could call us. Well fed, clean and tidy but every half penny had to be watched. My mother’s sister had migrated to Australia in 1953 and due to some hard times at the pit my parents decided they too would “go to Australia” I was about 12 or so at the time and this is my recollection of that time
I can’t actually remember when we (two younger sisters and I were told we were leaving Scotland. I cannot remember having any anger about leaving friends or any great sense of excitement; though I am sure there must have been both. I do remember becoming very important in the school yard as we were the first family to migrate to the other side of the world; an earlier departure was a family in the village who had emigrated to Canada.
Mam and Da seemed to do a lot of trips to Glasgow (all by public transport of course) for interviews, and there were trips to Ayr for medicals and x-rays for all of us, the local doctor did the vaccinations (smallpox was the one I remember getting ,). When we got the OK to migrate things had to be sold off as there was a very strict limit of what could be taken on the ship. The same thing happened then to my family, as some of you have recently experienced when you left UK. People popped in and “bought” things promising to send the money – none of it ever received no cheap and adequate telephone service or email then to chase these debts up. Contact to “back home” was by letter only - delivery time for those letters was 5 to 6 weeks.
We did the rounds of goodbyes to family and friends in Scotland, and then headed down South by train to Sussex to say goodbye to family and friends in that part of the country. Then finally off to Southampton to board our means of transport to the other side of the world – an old ex troop ship converted to a migrant ship and named the “New Australia”. At the time it all seemed exciting and luxurious; imagine us, a wee family from Ayrshire on this “big boat”. First obstacle, due to the fact they needed to pack as many people on board as possible, men and women were separated in regards to sleeping arrangements. Girls and boys under eight slept in the women’s quarters of the ship. The men and older boys slept in another section of the ship. This didn’t really affect us as children, how it was for mam and da I am not sure. I have no really bad memories of the trip except mam was seasick a lot, and I was too for a wee while. But the food was plentiful with lots of choice and they kept us amused with games, books, films, dances, and talks about Australia. The trip took 6 weeks; we sailed through the Suez Canal, stopped off in Colombo for a day to reload (now Sri Lanka) and had a stop WA where the first lot of now “immigrants” disembarked. I remember Freeo that April, it was a disgustingly hot day and an extremely warm night, and thinking to myself “if this is Australia in the autumn what the hell is it going to be like in the summer!!” We finally arrived in Melbourne in early May, mam and da had 10 pounds sterling in their pockets, not a penny more.
Now I must point out at this time we were fortunate as we had been sponsored by my mam’s sister who was already living in Victoria so that’s where we were headed. But some of the other migrants who had no sponsors did not really have a choice where they would settle; my aunt for instance wanted to live in NSW but was settled in Victoria where there was work. Not one of my aunt’s or my own family had or was issued with a passport, according to my aunt your means of identification was your ration book, you handed this over when you got on board the ship. At the other end, you were sorted out, those who did not have a sponsor were put on trains or buses and taken to immigration hostels. These were usually converted Nissan huts; each family had a couple of bedrooms and a small living area. All meals were prepared by hostel staff and served in the communal dining room, The showers and toilets were communal. The camps housed numerous nationalities, Brits, Dutch, Germans, then Italians and Greeks. Did they get on well together? in a word no. There were many disagreements and fights mainly between the Brits and the Germans. People stayed in the hostel for up to a year or until they got a council house or rented other accommodation. The rule of immigration was, if you came under the 10 pound immigration scheme, you had to stay in Australia for two years, if you left before then you had, to not only pay for your trip back, but also the cost of the passage out. But as I said we were fortunate, we moved in with my aunt, it was crowded, but we managed and we did get a council house after six or so months. Life’s adventure in Oz was about to begin
Scotland, we were working poor I suppose you could call us. Well fed, clean and tidy but every half penny had to be watched. My mother’s sister had migrated to Australia in 1953 and due to some hard times at the pit my parents decided they too would “go to Australia” I was about 12 or so at the time and this is my recollection of that time
I can’t actually remember when we (two younger sisters and I were told we were leaving Scotland. I cannot remember having any anger about leaving friends or any great sense of excitement; though I am sure there must have been both. I do remember becoming very important in the school yard as we were the first family to migrate to the other side of the world; an earlier departure was a family in the village who had emigrated to Canada.
Mam and Da seemed to do a lot of trips to Glasgow (all by public transport of course) for interviews, and there were trips to Ayr for medicals and x-rays for all of us, the local doctor did the vaccinations (smallpox was the one I remember getting ,). When we got the OK to migrate things had to be sold off as there was a very strict limit of what could be taken on the ship. The same thing happened then to my family, as some of you have recently experienced when you left UK. People popped in and “bought” things promising to send the money – none of it ever received no cheap and adequate telephone service or email then to chase these debts up. Contact to “back home” was by letter only - delivery time for those letters was 5 to 6 weeks.
We did the rounds of goodbyes to family and friends in Scotland, and then headed down South by train to Sussex to say goodbye to family and friends in that part of the country. Then finally off to Southampton to board our means of transport to the other side of the world – an old ex troop ship converted to a migrant ship and named the “New Australia”. At the time it all seemed exciting and luxurious; imagine us, a wee family from Ayrshire on this “big boat”. First obstacle, due to the fact they needed to pack as many people on board as possible, men and women were separated in regards to sleeping arrangements. Girls and boys under eight slept in the women’s quarters of the ship. The men and older boys slept in another section of the ship. This didn’t really affect us as children, how it was for mam and da I am not sure. I have no really bad memories of the trip except mam was seasick a lot, and I was too for a wee while. But the food was plentiful with lots of choice and they kept us amused with games, books, films, dances, and talks about Australia. The trip took 6 weeks; we sailed through the Suez Canal, stopped off in Colombo for a day to reload (now Sri Lanka) and had a stop WA where the first lot of now “immigrants” disembarked. I remember Freeo that April, it was a disgustingly hot day and an extremely warm night, and thinking to myself “if this is Australia in the autumn what the hell is it going to be like in the summer!!” We finally arrived in Melbourne in early May, mam and da had 10 pounds sterling in their pockets, not a penny more.
Now I must point out at this time we were fortunate as we had been sponsored by my mam’s sister who was already living in Victoria so that’s where we were headed. But some of the other migrants who had no sponsors did not really have a choice where they would settle; my aunt for instance wanted to live in NSW but was settled in Victoria where there was work. Not one of my aunt’s or my own family had or was issued with a passport, according to my aunt your means of identification was your ration book, you handed this over when you got on board the ship. At the other end, you were sorted out, those who did not have a sponsor were put on trains or buses and taken to immigration hostels. These were usually converted Nissan huts; each family had a couple of bedrooms and a small living area. All meals were prepared by hostel staff and served in the communal dining room, The showers and toilets were communal. The camps housed numerous nationalities, Brits, Dutch, Germans, then Italians and Greeks. Did they get on well together? in a word no. There were many disagreements and fights mainly between the Brits and the Germans. People stayed in the hostel for up to a year or until they got a council house or rented other accommodation. The rule of immigration was, if you came under the 10 pound immigration scheme, you had to stay in Australia for two years, if you left before then you had, to not only pay for your trip back, but also the cost of the passage out. But as I said we were fortunate, we moved in with my aunt, it was crowded, but we managed and we did get a council house after six or so months. Life’s adventure in Oz was about to begin
Apr 18th 2008, 3:25 am
#5
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Posts: 659
Re: My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
Great read thanx for sharing and I too, look forward to hearing more!!
Cheers
Mandy
Cheers
Mandy
Apr 18th 2008, 6:14 am
#6
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,067
Re: My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
I really wish more people whould do these life stories.
Baywhales one had me crying at the end of it and this one is shaping up to be just as good.
Cant wait for the second installment.
thanks
Baywhales one had me crying at the end of it and this one is shaping up to be just as good.
Cant wait for the second installment.
thanks
Apr 18th 2008, 7:09 am
#7
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Joined: Mar 2008
Location: Back in Perth WA
Posts: 9
Re: My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
I love these stories from early migrants. During our time in Australia we heard many wonderful stories from people who came on the £10 scheme from the UK. We had it easy in comparision! Look forward to part 2!
Apr 18th 2008, 7:13 am
#8
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Re: My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
Keep that keyboard warm!
Apr 18th 2008, 7:19 am
#9
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,376
Re: My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
Also very much looking forward to part II...
Thanx for taking the time to share your memories - great reading!
Thanx for taking the time to share your memories - great reading!
Apr 18th 2008, 7:26 am
#10
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Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Thornlands, Bayside
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Re: My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
More please I love reading these stories too.
Jx
I love reading these stories too.Jx
Apr 18th 2008, 8:54 am
#11
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Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2008
Location: Lorne. Victoria
Posts: 74
Re: My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
Thanks people, I am a bit overwhelmed, I didn't really plan to write much more than this post. But I was a bit intrigued by today's immigration experiences - reccie visits, buying houses, choices of schools, choices of jobs etc. being able to move back to UK reasonably easy (or so it seems to me after the my family's experience of immigration). I perhaps just wanted to tell you how different it was in the mid 50s for my family. Mam and Da made the move and we just had to deal with whatever cropped up.
Thank you Sheff_Sparky for mentioning BayWhales post I was not aware of it before and have started to read it today. What a super story, I am afraid I have nowhere near the wonderful biography skills that this lady has. I dip's me lid to her.
But I will try and put together a bit more of life and emotions Down Under for a struggling Scottish family. I am off to New Zealand next week for a month's holiday and I will give it a lot of thought then, and if that is suitable I will post when I return.
Thanks once again for your kind comments.
Thank you Sheff_Sparky for mentioning BayWhales post I was not aware of it before and have started to read it today. What a super story, I am afraid I have nowhere near the wonderful biography skills that this lady has. I dip's me lid to her.
But I will try and put together a bit more of life and emotions Down Under for a struggling Scottish family. I am off to New Zealand next week for a month's holiday and I will give it a lot of thought then, and if that is suitable I will post when I return.
Thanks once again for your kind comments.
Apr 18th 2008, 9:00 am
#12
Lost in BE Cyberspace
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Posts: 9,397
Re: My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
Have a great holiday!
Apr 18th 2008, 9:29 am
#13
OH is STILL undecided grr
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: UK.... for now!
Posts: 913
Re: My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
Awwwww what an amazing post
. I too love hearing about the 10 pound poms (i love owt to do with history!)
Look forward to reading future posts, and i hope there's plenty of them.
. I too love hearing about the 10 pound poms (i love owt to do with history!) Look forward to reading future posts, and i hope there's plenty of them.
Apr 18th 2008, 9:50 am
#14
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Re: My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
just read your great post! will look forward to the next instalment.
have a nice trip to NZ
have a nice trip to NZ
Apr 18th 2008, 10:59 am
#15
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Re: My recollections of migrating to Oz circa 1955
I too love these threads! my in laws were £10 Poms back in the 60's, they were Greek and Father in Law couldn't cope with the discrimination and camp life so they headed back not long after the obligatory 2 years,, but luckily for us my DH was born here in Aus so it made it easier for us to come here