Migrantweb.com Hostels Forum

[deniseblack]

Hi
My name is Denise Black (formerly Vickers) and my family emigrated to Australia in 1962 and spent 18 months at Bunnerong Hostel in blocks 5 and 10.....I attended Matraville Primary school for 1 year and then to Maroubra Bay High....I also noticed posts on this site from OzCloggie (Jo Mulholland) if I am correct, and have also spoken to Jo on the MBHS site he started.....
Hillsdale shopping Plaza was built, and a lot of development had started around here...,We spent many happy hours at Heffron Park swimming pool and Maroubra Beach...and at La Perouse.....We had good friends in the hostel if anyone knows of their whereabouts....Geordie and Jeannette McIvor (they lost a little boy Michael while at the hostel) I used to visit Jeannette after school when they moved to Maroubra....The Pepper family (Gloria in particular) The Stubbs family...they moved to Engadine I seem to remember. and the Gardiners...think they were from Blackpool and had a young son called Jimmy....I used to sell newspapers in the canteen every morning, then take what wasn't sold back to the newsagents in Pagewood on my way to school....I remember the school packed lunches....baked bean, vegemite or jam sandwiches along with a piece of sponge cake and a piece of fruit...my brother lived on jam "buttys" for the duration of our stay there....such a long time ago now and I moved back to the UK 30 years ago.....all 4 of my children have since moved back to Sydney, and am now just awaiting a visa to go back and join them...silly me lived there for 15 years...married an Aussie and had 2 children there and have to pay �17,000 to get back there! I hope to hear from anyone soon to share my childhood memories of Matraville and of course Bunnerong!
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Denise Black (nee Vickers)