Australia

Soon we arrived in Townsville in the northern territory of Australia. Where we were to be processed by customs and emigration, we were asked to read a wad of A4 documents I started to read PROHIBITED GOODS Electrical goods Washing machines, I did not read any more I was carrying all my worldly positions on my back and did not have washing machine or any electrical goods. I signed I had read and understood the document. Unknown to me I was trying to smuggle a band book! The Ginger man I also was trying smuggle in a double edged knife namely a Kukri it was double edged about a foot long made from a truck spring and was a souvenir from Nepal. George was also in trouble with his Kukri, our knives and my book were confiscated. Welcome to Australia. We boarded back onto our ship and sailed alongside the Great Barrier Reef but saw nothing but sea as we sailed to Sydney and the end of our voyage.


We booked in to The Peoples Palace Hotel Sydney. It was cold, we were broke with only a few Australian dollars we found a cheap restaurant the food was good but the front doors were open and a cold wind was blowing through the restaurant we asked if the doors could be closed? “No” was the reply “people will think we are closed!” My mother had posted to me a copy of The Sunday Post inside was a full page advertisement, Come To Sunny Australia.

We had to find work as we were rapidly running out of cash.

We got told to go to Wollongong as there was plenty of work and was not far from Sydney. We went to Wollongong and found a newly built Salvation Army Hostel for homeless men, fortunately for us as we had very little money. We booked in it was bright and spacious and as we sat in the sitting room George started to open a 200 pack of duty free cigarettes. One of the Salvations came over to George and told him. “If you can afford to smoke you don’t need to stay here” We got putout. It was cold and dark and had no cash where do we go? George started to speak to a man, he told him of problem, and the man said he ran a boarding house we could stay there. We explained we had no cash to pay rent. He said we could stay till we found work then pay him. He went on to say “sign on the employment exchange after 13 days they will find you work” Why do me have to wait 13 days? We asked he told us “from 14 days they have to pay you unemployment benefit” So we moved in and after 13 days work was found for us laying sewer pipes. When we started working we found out we would only get paid every two weeks.

We told our Good Samaritan the bad news it would be a month before we could pay our rent. He was not bothered and he told us we could get fed for free at a Methodist hall after a bible reading at least we would get good wholesome food at night. After a few months we paid the rent we owed. We moved to Canberra the capital of Australia. I got work as an experienced building labour. Having never worked on a building site this was a big mistake on my part. The work was heavy I was working with a squad brick layers I had to keep them supplied with bricks and mortar and I could not keep up with them after a week I was sacked. George had got himself a job washing dishes. We moved on to Melbourne, both of us got a job cleaning tramcars this was more in my line. Melbourne was experiencing a drought we were only allowed one bucket of water for each tramcar. Ships coming to Melbourne had their bilges filled with fresh water this was used to water the numerous trees lining the roads to keep them from dying. We spent Christmas on the beach the temperature was 30o c Santa arrived sweating under his heavy red coat and beard. We had roast turkey with all the trimmings including Christmas pudding.

After this we moved onto Perth. We got a lift across the Nalabor desert it was to be a long drive of about 1000 miles. It was hot and dusty in the car, the driver only stopping for fuel. At one fuel stop at we were getting fuel cartons of food and beer was loaded into the car. This was for a truck driver whose truck had broken down in the desert. When we arrived at the stranded driver he had a hammock fixed under the trailer for shade. When he needed supplies he just stopped any vehicle gave them a note of his requirements this was given to the fuel stop. This drive across the desert was alarming as the driver did not stop for breaks he just drank beer and took pills to keep him awake. Thankfully we arrived at Perth safe and sound.

Here in Perth we got work loading wheat onto railway wagons 200 miles from anywhere, in the middle of nowhere just fields out to the horizon. We got dropped off at a wee caravan next to the biggest pile of wheat we ever seen, alongside a railway siding with empty wagons. We were to operate an elevator loading the wheat into the wagons. The elevator had a large scoop attached to a rope, the other end of the rope was attached to a rotating drum that pulled the scoop into the elevator where small buckets took the wheat up to the end of the pipe then ran down into the wagon. To operate the elevator you took hold of the handles on the scoop and walked to the bottom of the pile of wheat without stopping or relaxing the rope, as soon as you stop the winch pulls in the rope in towards the elevator. This required some skill as you were walking on wheat.

The next problem was the railway wagons that we had to shunt only using a crowbar. You placed the crowbar under a wheel and pulled hard on the end and the wagon would start to move when the wagon got near where you wanted it to be, you had to jump on to the break to stop it, sometimes the break did not work and the wagon would bang into the next stationery wagon and as this could cause some wheat to spill onto the ground and would need cleaned up so it was best not to let this happen if possible.

Our supervisor came to our site every 14 days with our provisions and show our pay was in the bank and to check we had loaded the required tonnage.

When all the wheat was loaded and work was finished we headed back to Melbourne back across the Nalabor dessert this time by several lifts, one time the police stopped not to give us a lift but to see if we has sufficient money, that we thought was strange.

Once in Melbourne we flew to New Zealand.