Migrantweb.com Hostels Forum

[shirley Croucher]

Hi ,my name is Shirley, I arrived from England with my family on the SS New Australia -23 October 1954. We disembarked from the ship and were taken to hammondville hostel on Hearthcote road.by bouble decker buses. What a culture shock! This place was a disused army camp, the only things that lived there were snakes and spiders.
My mother decided that she was not going to stay . We all said that it was a long way home. My dad soon found his way around and brought himself a car and found himself a job. My sister mother and myself were not so lucky,we had no idea where we were.We had only been in the country about a week and it started to rain,and rain, The rain lasted for around 6 weeks .everything flooded. the dining room had a foot of water all over the floor. We moved to number 3A on the end of the row of huts as the ground was a little higher and we were dry under foot.By this time I had found a job at a dry cleaners in redfern.I think they only gave me the position because they felt sorry for me . They probably thought i was a Refugee The rain got so bad that the foot bridge at Easthills was just about washed away. The army came to our rescue and ferried us across the very swollen river by an Army duck . The train driver used to wait untill we all loaded onto the train on our journy into Sydney The locals said that it was a 100 year flood. Just before Christmas the rain stopped and we all settled down to the start of our life in Australia. most of the people were nice and friendly(some of them we had already met on the ship).Someone sujested that we have a christmas party in the canteen on Christmas eve. It was a great success So good that there was a party every Saturday night from then on It was something to look foward to :grin:The manager was Jim Faint and his wife Queenie. They were very nice peope.I think they only stayed for about three years .Jim applied for a posting at Katherine in the northen terratory on a Aborignal reserve. I married in 1956 and moved away . My parents built a house and moved in1968.

[Phyl]

Hi Shirley,
We were at Heathcote Rd. Hostel at that time I was just arriving from New Zealand and my husband was one of the managers You would have been at East Hills. There is stuff about the flood on the East Hills forum and my post about my arrival on the Heathcote Rd. Hostel, on the heathcote Rd. forum.
Any enjoyed your post.
I remember Jim Faint and Tom Brook was manager of Heathcote Rd. hostel so Jim must have been at East Hills Hostel.
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Kind regards,
Phyl

[Norm Faint]

Hi Shirley, rather than duplicate, if you are still reading these Forums, please go over to my long message to you on the East Hills site where you posted the photos of the East Hills/Georges River flood and you number 4 photo of me mum and dad, ; ) ; ) many thanks Norm Faint.
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1954, Cabramatta Hostel from England aboard S.S.Strathaird, followed by Matraville, Marybrinong, Broadmeadows, Williamstown, Heathcote Road and Bunnerong (various moves as dad was later in '54 engaged as a Hostel Manager.

[Norm Faint]

Hi Phyl, dad was one of the Managers at Heathcote for a while and we lived next door to Major (Coombes ?) one of the 2 Managers huts that were fenced. Dad was then transfered to East Hills and we moved up the road a couple of huts (unfenced and closer to the office) still at Heathcote. As you well know from your experiences, we were never in one place too too long but long enough to enjoy the experiences, make friends and hold fond memories, particularly of our teenage years.
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1954, Cabramatta Hostel from England aboard S.S.Strathaird, followed by Matraville, Marybrinong, Broadmeadows, Williamstown, Heathcote Road and Bunnerong (various moves as dad was later in '54 engaged as a Hostel Manager.