Migrantweb.com Hostels Forum Forum Index Migrantweb.com Hostels Forum
Hostels were used to accommodate new Australians. 1950's-1970's
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Newbie - East Hills 1962

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Migrantweb.com Hostels Forum Forum Index -> East Hills Hostel Forums:
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Brenda
New Member
New Member


Joined: 13 Mar 2010

Posts: 1

PostPosted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 7:20 am    Post subject: Newbie - East Hills 1962 Reply with quote

It�s funny how so many of us cannot forget our times in a migrant hostel. I often think of those days with a mixture of emotions.

I was 14 when my parents left England and sailed across the world to start a life in a new country. We left Southampton in January 1962 on the Castel Felice. We had no idea until we neared Australia what state we were going to be disembarking. In February 1962 we arrived in NSW. I remember being herded off the ship into hot stuffy buses, eventually arriving at East Hills Migrant Hostel. It was so hot and dry and in the middle of nowhere. I felt my life would never be the same again.

Our new home like so many stories I have read in this forum was half a tin Nissan hut. Communal toilets and showers were some distance away. We were handed tin plates and cups, which we had to take with us when we went for meals.

I attended East Hills High School but never felt I belonged, as the students from the hostel were known as the �Hostel Kids�, discrimination was not frowned on in 1962. We had a long walk to school, mostly through the bush.

The highlight of the week was fish and chips on Friday night. We did have a playground and I did make some friends. After just 4 months mum and dad rented a house in Manly and we left one of the most unpleasant periods of my life.

Having said all that I know that it was the best decision my parents ever had and I would not change my life for the world. We moved to Melbourne in 1965, I married and Englishman in 1967. We have been back to UK many times and I although I still call myself English, Melbourne is my home.
Very Happy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
GinaKate
Active Member
Active Member


Joined: 27 Dec 2008

Posts: 135
Location: Brisbane

PostPosted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 11:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You were given tin plates? We were given our own utensils and a mug, there is a photo of one of the mugs on here somewhere, I suppose you will come across it. Two sheets, one pillow case and one towel. And an underlay for the bed. The plates and bowls were all crockery and kept in the canteen.
Everyone has a similar story, amazingly enough as children and teens we left comfortable homes to live in tin sheds and yet not only did we get used to it rapidly, but it became so normal. Not sure if our parents felt the same.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Phyl Phyl has been starred
Respected Contributor:


Joined: 05 Jan 2007

Posts: 544
Location: New Zealand

PostPosted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 9:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was in hostels from 1954 and I don't remember tin plates Only crockery plates have ever been used .Think the tin plates may have been a dream
or a dramatization. Smile Rolling Eyes
_________________
Kind regards,
Phyl
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message MSN Messenger
ninette
Active Member
Active Member


Joined: 19 Sep 2017

Posts: 14

PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

We were on the same journey as you Castel Felice January 1962!...I'd forgotten travelling on the stuffy bus till you wrote about it and getting the utensils for the canteen. I was only 9 years old so it was a bit of an adventure though I hated leaving England. We didn't leave a comfortable home, it was very basic and was knocked down a year or 2 later in the slum clearances in Stockport. I was school Captain of Hammondville primary in 1963.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Migrantweb.com Hostels Forum Forum Index -> East Hills Hostel Forums: All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
 
 
Copyright � 2003 migrantweb.com
Images on this site are owned. Reproducing, republishing or mirroring on other WebPages or websites without permission is not permitted.

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group