Migrantweb.com Hostels Forum

[aussietrekker]

Just wasted an hour on a long post, but the beastie timed out and I lost the lot.
Hence the instalments will be even shorter, sorry Stormfour.

[stormfour]

Just type faster!!!!
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Carol Myers Altona Hostel Dec 1962 - June 1964

[aussietrekker]

The plane took off, and the curtain flew. I was hoping to see the curve of the Earth like they did on the spaceships, but it didn't happen. I also recalled a composition that a little girl in my class had written about a plane trip- she'd asked her Daddy if it would rain if she threw a fork out the window and into the clouds. But the windows didn't open. After a while, some glamourous ladies in navy uniforms and little blue hats started to visit us and give us things. They brought us glasses of orange juice, which had little toothpicks with a cherry. They looked very pretty, but the orange juice was awful. They also brought activities for the kids to stop them from getting bored. I remember receiving a magazine called TREASURE. It had a story about a witch, an article on different breeds of horses, and another on Alexander the Great and his horse Bucephalus. All the passengers were issued with a very colourful fan, made of bamboo and paper, to be carried with us as we stopped for refuelling at all the hot countries. I still have mine, and it still works. But the best freebie was a Junior Jet Club Log book. It looked very impressive with its navy bookcloth cover and gold embossed logo. Inside were maybe ten pages with columns, on which the Captain wrote the flight number and duration, and other details.- something like a frequent flyers for kids. When the book was full, you could send it to BOAC head office in London, and they'd send you a badge and a certificate. But our books would only ever have the one solitary entry- and the thought of any children being rich enough to make it to the end of the book was unimaginable. I still have my book, and it is in mint condition.
For the next day or so, we would get used to a routine...off the plane down the wheelie-steps into a new exotic airport with our fans in tow- then another take-off with the flying curtain.

[stormfour]

I think BOAC banked on the fact that there wouldn't be too many kids filling in all those columns,hence the offer.
I wish I had the foresight to keep some things from that time in my life,the only thing I kept was a bible I received as a going away present from school,I think Linda has it,that is more than likely how it survived all these years
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Carol Myers Altona Hostel Dec 1962 - June 1964

[Susan Gillet]

I'm like you Judith, I love planes, and am happy to fly whenever. I also love ships, and would go on a cruise at the drop of a hat. Let's face it, I just love to travel, and wish I was well off enough to do so.

I have good memories of the time leading up to and our departure from England, and the trip over on the ship.

Like Carol, I wish I'd been sentimental enough to save memento's, but that's something I've never been.
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Resident of Altona Hostel, 1963-1965

[aussietrekker]

Our first pitstop was Tel Aviv in Israel- a very clean and modern airport. We wandered around the handful of shops, and in the bookshop Mum spotted the respectable well-dressed Object of Admiration that had impressed her in the line at Heathrow. But he was about to fall from grace on account of the book he was buying. To Mum's horror, he proceeded to buy "Lady Chatterley's Lover" and she was mortified. How could anyone so decent-looking buy such a Dirty Book? Having been banned by the Catholic Church, to Mum's delicate sensitivities the book was nothing short of pornographic. She sought out my Dad to tell him of her "gruesome discovery" and on many future occasions would reminisce the incident, always ending wistfully with "and he looked so respectable!"
Another stop I recall was New Delhi. It was neither clean nor modern. It was shabby and stinking hot. Mum and I went into the toilets, but there were no real toilets to sit on- there was just a big metal square on the floor with a hole in the middle! The whole world could see you, and there was No Way I was going to do a wee or worse with all these strangers watching. Suddenly I didn't need to go anymore. And as we went in to this exotic house of horrors, a woman wearing long robes put her hand out for money. I thought she had an awful cheek, wanting money and not even giving us a seat to sit on. At least in "spending a penny" at home, you had the fun of turning the coin in the door-slot.

[aussietrekker]

We passed over the Irawaddy River in Burma, and I recognised a delta, having recently learned about them in Geography. I'd apparently missed out on an aerial view of a temple made of gold, due to having fallen asleep. Mum said it was beautiful. But the best memory of the whole journey was the ultimate treat- the hostess came over and asked all the kids if they would like to go into the cockpit and see how the plane worked!!!!!!!!! This was the icing on the cake, an absolute dream. Two or three kids at a time were taken in turns behind the flying curtain. Suddenly we were surrounded by only glass, with the clouds just inches in front of our faces and all around us. It was exactly like being in Fireball XL5 itself, and we felt like we'd gone to heaven. There were loads of clocks and dials and I think there were four men there but none of them were actually driving the plane- they were just sitting there writing. Full of excitement we returned to our seats and shouted "MUMMY,DADDY... THE PLANE IS FLYING ALL BY ITSELF!" I shall never forget the look of sheer terror on Mum's face upon this revelation. We might as well have told her that the plane was about to crash. She clung onto Dad's arm the rest of the way. We'd frequently peek through the gaps in the seats and witness a poor frozen Mother just waiting for the ordeal to end. Her catchphrase to describe the journey for years after was "every time I think of it, I quiver".

[stormfour]

I think I am going to be like your mum come October !!
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Carol Myers Altona Hostel Dec 1962 - June 1964

[aussietrekker]

You'll be fine. Just do as I do and look out the window all the time for UFOs (but I never see any ).
You could always resort to a Mogadon.

[stormfour]

Looks like Mogadon it is then,and I will take another if I see a UFO
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Carol Myers Altona Hostel Dec 1962 - June 1964

[aussietrekker]

Wuss!

[Spike]

Hello Aussietrekker, I have just read a couple of your instalments, and will read the remainder soon. I'm not a migrant, but I lived through this period as a kid and still remember those days well, with all the migrant kids coming to school, I find your story (so far) absolutely fascinating.

I just hope that you are saving all this to print for your children and grandchildren?

There must be thousands of stories like this, I only wish more people would commit them to paper (and a computer file).

I only found this site while looking for information on the Gepps Cross Migrant hostel in Adelaide for my own memoirs. I was saying how we stopped at the adjacent traffic lights one morning on our way into Adelaide and many of the people in the Hostel were out sitting on the steps of their Nissen huts trying to catch some breeze.

My father commented to my mother, "Look at those poor buggers,... straight from a European winter into this". It was about 105 degrees at the time and there wasn't a skerrick of shade to be had at the Hostel, just a couple of acres of silver painted Nissen huts baking in the sun.

The memories eh,...

[stormfour]

Yes Spike we did it tough back then,those huts we lived in were stifling in the summer and absolutely freezing in winter,all we had for heating was an electric bar heater,but you know I don't think any body outside those hostels had any idea of the conditions,and we as kids just soaked it up,but our parents who had in fact been promised the earth to come to Australia,found it all a bit distressing,and the promises that where made never eventuated,and when they objected,hence the phrase "whinging Pom".You see,if they had taken the option to return to England within 2 years of arriving here,then not only where they up for the cost of the return trip for the whole family,but then would need to pay for the original FULL fare of the whole family to come out here,so obviously not many did return in that first 2 years and after that,well they just got on with it and were then torn between doing what the kids wanted and what the parents wanted,usually the kids and the men were happy enough to stay here,but most of the mum's wanted to go back home,and they where just out numbered,so they stayed.
I know my Mum never settled here,and it was only after my dad died that she returned to England with my younger brother who had been born here,this time seperating the family,and that was worse .
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Carol Myers Altona Hostel Dec 1962 - June 1964

[Spike]

Hello Carol, yes, I am quite aware of many of the hardships that migrants faced. I grew up in the Barrosa Valley in SA where we had a large migrant population of at least a dozen nationalities. We had Dutch neighbours but one, and at least half of the kids in our street were European, mainly German, Dutch, Poms and a couple of Danes.

My father was a JP and we always had people coming around at night to have papers signed for one thing or another, it was a great experience, many never spoke much english and some not at all,... they bought their kids as interpreters.

I look back on those days with great affection, and often reminisce with my neighbour (of Dutch ancestry) about how things have changed and our different perspectives of all the things that happened back then.

One of the things that used to make my own kids laugh is that I can still swear in about a dozen different languages and understand German and a smattering of Dutch Italian and Spanish (if spoken slowly and clearly)

Some of it came in handy in my occupation as a merchant seaman.

In all seriousness, I beg that people will think seriously about recording their memories of this time, as it was truly unique, and our children and grandchildren will never see the likes of it again.

They were hard times, but we all came through it and I feel that it made us all better for the experience.

[aussietrekker]

Thank you Spike...my hope in submitting these memoirs is that others will not be shy in doing the same.

LAST LEG OF THE JOURNEY.

I remember nothing of the stop at Singapore, but we first set foot in Australia at Darwin Airport. We'd made it across all those oceans, alien countries, air pockets and tiny cabin toilets. We were in Australia at last, but not properly as yet, as we were only in a huge arrivals lounge with the most polished floor I've ever seen. We soon boarded the plane again, and the curtain flew for the last time. A few hours later we made our approach to Melbourne, and I was so excited. The stewardess handed out Glacier Mints, to help our ears with the final descent. Finally we arrived at Essendon Airport. The door of the plane opened- and the heat just hit us.
The date was Friday, March 27, 1964. And it had the misfortune to be Good Friday.