Migrantweb.com Hostels Forum

[David Dalrymple]

Hi to everybody, the Dalrymple family arrived in Sydney, from Middlesbrough North East of England, on the greek ship Ellinis on April 29, 1965. My parents Raymond and Dot and my two sisters, Susan (17) and Janis (15) and my younger brother Martin (10) and I had just turned 13. We were 10 pound migrants as they called us in those days. We arrived at Cabramatta Hostel in a double decker bus with several other families and it was a warm sunny day as I remember. We lived in number 43 and very shortly after the Robsons moved into 44 which was the other end of 43. It was made up of three rooms, two with double bunks and the "lounge room" was a sofa bed which mum and dad slept in of a night. There was no kitchen or bathroom and we had to fill the jug in the shower/toilet blocks. Mum worked for the hostel in the canteen for a period, can't remember how long, and her boss was a german woman who I can't remember her name but I can still picture her face which always seemed to be smiling. Always remember the cheers in the canteen when somebody dropped their tray. Dad found a job at ICI botany. We stayed for 10 months and then moved into a house in Boyd Street Cabramatta. I can remember lots of families from those days, the Barkers, Whalleys, Young, Carters, Bulmers, Twentymans, Morleys, Dearies and Slaters, McDonoughs, Taylors, Bradleys, Bates, Pages to name just a few. I made lots of friends and continued to hang around there well into my late teens, many a night was spent at the "Wreck" recreation hall and I can still picture the man from the shop, was his surname Ransome. Well I hope thats a good start for my introduction.
regards David

[Len]

Hi Dave, welcome to our forums, it�s great to have you here. I wasn�t at Cabramatta myself but others here have been. I've enjoyed reading your intro, nice one.