MOVING TO FAR OFF PLACES

[Splinter]

Since coming on to this site(which is great) i am amazed where people have moved to. their in Oz and Canada. But could i ask What made you move so far away. Was it all you dreampt about. What do you miss. And mainly what were your gains. But what amazes me, no matter where you are in this World. Downham is still a focal point to all of us and always will be.

[Brenda]

Oooh, what a lot of story telling you have invited.

For starters, we (Syd and I and two children) could not afford to get into the housing market in England in the early 70s.   We were living in a council flat in Kennington which was not the best place to be - not like Downham, I can tell you.  House prices suddenly zoomed up and we knew we didn't have a chance of getting our own place. Banks etc confirmed it!  Add to that, my sister had already come out to Oz with her family and they had managed to get their first home fairly quickly.  My mother was already in Oz with them.

So, I suppose we could sum it up by saying our reasons were family, finances and housing and the hope of a better future for the four of us.

We came out with four suitcases and four smallish crates and lived in a migrant hostel for 9 months.  I immediately started earning four times as much as I did in England so we were able to save and by the end of that 9 months we had enough to put a deposit on a house. 

I often think what might have happened had we stayed. I suppose we'd have been able to buy the flat eventually and then been able to get out of that area into something better.  Most of our friends in  England seem to have achieved it.  But I hated living in Kennington. Hated the noise and the dirt and not having a garden and the aggression.  I'm glad we got out and I'm glad we're here.

What do I miss? Well, the old friends naturally. Extended family although most of them have gone now.  Bluebells at Westerham. Antiquity and history. The green of rural England. Rain! Crocuses popping up in spring.  Kent in blossom time.  The smell of the sea (smells different out here). Faggots.  Dandelion and Burdock ...



Bren


 

[Pauline]

I

What do I miss? Well, the old friends naturally. Extended family although most of them have gone now.  Bluebells at Westerham. Antiquity and history. The green of rural England. Rain! Crocuses popping up in spring.  Kent in blossom time.  The smell of the sea (smells different out here). Faggots.  Dandelion and Burdock ...



Bren


 

Yes all of the above, mostly the history. But also proper Bisto gravy, proper chocolate.  But I love the seafood, especially swordfish, prawns that look like lobsters.

Why did we move here?  A good question.  We had a lovely house, and both had good jobs.  We tell everyone it was "because Jill's dad died". 
Jill and Kevin lived near us when we first got married, and although we had both moved away, we kept in touch.  Jill's brothers both lived in Perth.  When Jill's dad died, he left a little money to all 3 children.  The brothers used theirs to pay for Kevin Jill and the kids to come to Perth for a holiday.  They came back with glowing tales, and decided to move here.  We looked into it, and thought "Why not?"  So we came a few months after them, and stayed with them until we got a house.  We don't see them much any more, too many other things to do.  We came in 1988, no migrant hostels then, and we had to pay full fare for us and my son Peter Jnr.  My daughter Nadine had married Gareth before we came here, and they arrived here 3 months after us.  We would have probably still been in the same house back in England, netiher of us would have had the same jobs because both company's went out of business later.  Nadine and Gareth would have had a 2 up 2 down in Sheerness, and young Peter also.  Here they have lovely homes, the kids go to good schools, and everyone is happy. And because of the climate we see much more of them, and everyone esle.

[Splinter]

Thank you for your replys very interesting. If there are certain products that you and probably a majority of ex pats cant buy. Why does`nt somebody import them ( thats i thought for a business) These days it could all be done online !!!

[Brenda]

I would once have added Marmite to my list of things missed but it can now be bought over here.  Thank goodness!  My friend who recently visited brought over some bags of sherbert lemons.  Australian confectionery is not of such a high standard as English.  There is a small shop in Ballarat where English confectionery is sold but it is limited and very, very expensive.

There are selections of imported English food on the supermarket shelves e.g. Tate and Lyalls Golden Syrup.  Glad too, we can get Branston Pickle.  Australian pickled products are very sweet.

[Frank (hutchsky)]

I worked for Otis Elevators on the refurbishment of the Northern Line and our team had a lot of Ozies and they was full of praise of Australia. So one day I rung my wife up and said I have been to Australia House and we can get assisted passage to West Oz (10 pound poms) She agreed to go, we was buying a nice home in Wellmeadow Rd Hither Green, couple of cars and good jobs and of course family we had 2 boys 2/3 years old. We went through the process with fights with my parents over leaving the UK, but I remember that they wanted to come to Oz in the early 50s so it was their in my brain. We left the UK in February 1968 by boat (Castel Felice Sitmar Line) and arrived in Fremantle late March, we came the long way round due to Suez being closed. On arrival it was bucketing down with rain not ever seen anything like it and the migrant hostel at Point Water was Tin Huts and every one had their meals in a big Hall. Talk about walking back in time, after London This was like an Old Western town, all that was needed was tie up rails for your horses. First job was to buy a car and move out, I was working after a couple of days. But did not look back after a couple of months and love the place. The things I miss of course, the History, (only 200 years here) and country side, can get English food and sweets with shops selling just that (Birds Custard, even the Grand Kids ask for Birds Custard) would have travelled a lot more, lots to see in that side of the world history wise. I still find the English TV programs the Best, we have a lot of USA rubbish, and the Oz Shows, well more rubbish, apart from a few( Not a TV Fan) My Brother and sisters have made visits. One lives in Sidcup, another in Gravesend ( Ex Churchdown Girl) and baby sis in Spain. I suppose in would be perfect to live in both Countries, as some do. My wife Janet, all her family now live here, 4 sisters 1 brother Mum & Dad, cousins and aunts and uncles They are from Bristol, must be a harder place to live than London.

[Frank (hutchsky)]

The first year in Oz I might add (1968)we had an earthquake and a cyclone and that did not seemed to worry us too much, the weather is the big plus and day light saving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! big bush fire here over the easter weekend, its a way of life!

[Dickie eagle]

in the late 30's my future looked like Music and possibly the BBC ........!  then someone started a war ( the family joke was my Mum in Law jokingly blamed me ). It was well under way when I got dragged in but I enjoyed the countries and places (The friendly ones ) visited somehow the horrible Japs we were fighting then were nothing like the courteous and warm people I lived with after the cessation of hostilities, and Kure, Kobe. Sassebo. and the Air Station at Iwakuni was an enlightening experience . Must say I was not much taken by Malta which in their own language was very "Mush Tiab "  (No Good). Time spent at sea was a perfect Bonus and the seas and oceans were bridges to lots of other wonderful lands, including Oz          dickie..............

[christine]

To everyone in faraway places - it lifted me no end to hear of the lovely things you say about the old country - if only everyone could read the Downham site then they too might be more positive about England.  I, too, planned to move to Oz back in the late sixties under the old scheme but as the papers were completed for onward posting to Australia House, along came Stuart and four months later I was engaged and now coming up to our 38th anniversary. I do, though, have somewhere in Australia a branch of my mother's family - her mum's sister emigrated to Parramatta at the turn of the last century, set up home, and enjoyed a very nice lifestyle (another sister went, I believe, to live in Alberta, Canada - she also enjoying a good lifestyle). My grandmother stayed in the UK and struggled all her life to make ends meet! Bren - don't think I remember you telling me how you got to Oz but have to say that Kennington is now 'trendy' and expensive as is most of London and Greater London. Splinter -thanks for all the ideas you come up with and for getting people to put so much info about themselves on the site - it has all made interesting reading - you will get your 'hero' badge before long!

[Brenda]

Oh gosh, Kennington is trendy?  Blimey.  Look, I am sure if we had been living in a nice suburb with a house and garden, we would not have left England. But where we were was pretty rough and not a good place to bring up children and, as I said, the housing market went mad and left us right behind.  My job as a nurse was always poorly paid and that didn't help.

Chris, you are so right. Splinter has made a wonderful and very welcome addition to our online community.  Keep up the good work, John.

Hutch, I have heard that many migrants who went to Perth in the 60s found it to be very much a one-horse town and very behind in comparison to England.  A lot turned round and went home as soon as they could.  Those who stuck it out were generally pretty glad they did. 

The migrant hostel we went to in 1974 was a great improvement on the tin huts (my sister was in a hostel like that too).

Dickie dear, do tell us more about the thwarted musical career.

Bren

[Splinter]

Thank you all for those kind words. After reading about all the items that you cant get in OZ i think we should start sending FOOD parcels to you. Dont worry i still have plenty of new subjects for us all to discuss in the future. Got to go to bed now early start tomorrow, speak to you all soon . John.(Bye the way I drive an artic for a living )

[Dickie eagle]

Chris was it you who had an Uncle Harry after a fracas with a Chinamans pigtail ? if so did his wife live near Portsmouth, and what was his surname ??      dickie ............ um! Brenda, surprise cos even parts of Bermondsey are now Trendy  like Tanner St., and Snowsfields etc......

[Frank (hutchsky)]

Thank you all for those kind words. After reading about all the items that you cant get in OZ i think we should start sending FOOD parcels to you. Don't worry i still have plenty of new subjects for us all to discuss in the future. Got to go to bed now early start tomorrow, speak to you all soon . John.(Bye the way I drive an artic for a living )

John, I have driven Artics a lot of my working life, in England I drove for Chelsea Flour Mills (Cohen Flour Mills) in Long Lane BRS depot/Lorries, Alliance Haulage in Brixton, carting for United Glass, and drove the Artic at Haywood Pickles at Peckham, drove all over the UK. I drove for a company here Brambles Manford, and drove all over West Australia. I got a shock in the late 60s because a lot of roads out of Perth were gravel and I got stranded at times in the wet. Our Mining, North was booming and driving along river beds. open and shut farm/station gates crossing rivers was a real wake up from my UK driving, and on top of that, repaired our own tyres and trucks when they broke down. The Loads had to be watched all the time, with the rough roads. The roads are a lot better now, the rains can still cause problems with flooding,and the heat, nothing like changing and repairing a tyre in 40 plus heat. 27 punctures was the best I had on a 2000 mile trip! the norm was about 5/6. Every 60 miles (100KMS) you had to stopped and check your tyres, great fun, the boss paided us a hour for every tyre I repaired. I also did a stint on Road Trains but was away from home too much( More wheels but better tyres by then). No log Books and an 18 hour day was the norm. I think I put in 25 hours at times. I drove at times, for hours without seeing another vehicle, a big country

[Pauline]

Chris was it you who had an Uncle Harry after a fracas with a Chinamans pigtail ? if so did his wife live near Portsmouth, and what was his surname ??      dickie ............ um! Brenda, surprise cos even parts of Bermondsey are now Trendy  like Tanner St., and Snowsfields etc......

Hi Dickie, that was my Uncle.  His wife and kids lived in Plumstead until my Gran packed her off to Australia to join him.

[Pauline]

Thank you for your replys very interesting. If there are certain products that you and probably a majority of ex pats cant buy. Why does`nt somebody import them ( thats i thought for a business) These days it could all be done online !!!

Unfortunately you cannot import milk products, or nuts.  There is a shop in London Court that has a heap of stuff, a bit expensive though, so I just go now and again to get something I occasionally get a real longing for - like jaffa cakes and fig rolls, which are available sometimes in the supermarkets.  But there are heavy restrictions on food stuffs that can be imported. We cannot even bring in honey to WA from other states,f and I also think there is some restrictions on fruit and plants from other states.