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Esther Shorter from Newcastle, and her husband Dave, originally from Folkestone, live in the small coastal town of St George's Basin, Nowra, Australia. They live near a lake where they sail and race a 22ft yacht. But life was not always so pleasant . . . . . .
I left school at 15 to start work. Coming from a family of seven and being the oldest and not very good at school that's what one had to do.
I meet my husband Dave in Waddinton, Lincolnshire where he was in the Royal Air Force. He is from Folkstone in Kent.
He was posted to South Australia so in November, 1960 so off we went with our 22 month baby son in tow. We arrived just before Christmas, in the hottest month.
I remember having just bacon and eggs for Christmas dinner that year as it had taken so long for us to get there. In fact, it had taken two weeks as the weather in London was so terrible all the flights had been cancelled. If it was not foggy it was snowing.
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By the time we got to Adelaide we had only £2 in our pockets.
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We ran out of clean clothes and were staying at Hendon transit accommodation which was for all Forces personnel. At one point, we even managed to actually get on the aircraft, which was a charter flight for Forces personnel, but had to get off again as it had engine trouble. So, more delays!
When we finally did leave London, about three days later, we got to Bombay and an hour out of there we had to turn back to London - we had lost an engine.
A flock of birds had apparently flown into the engine. By the time we got back we had lost two of the four engines. The passengers were Forces people, some going to Singapore; Dave and I and two ladies travelling on their own to join their husbands in Australia.
It was a rather frightening time as I knew what they were talking about when they said they had 'feathered the engines'.
We had a few days stay in Singapore before leaving on a Qantas flight for Sydney and to my distress there was no seat for little David. He had to sit on my knee. I just broke down and cried. The kind man next to me felt so sorry for me he gave up his seat and said he was going to the bar for the rest of the trip so we could have his seat.
At Sydney we had missed the connecting flight to Adelaide so had six hours to wait for the next flight. By the time we got to Adelaide we had only £2 in our pockets.
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It was so hot! Coming from winter to this weather was a big shock.
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At Adelaide, the families officer came to meet us took us to a hotel which we had to pay for. Next day he found us a flat and gave Dave an advance on his pay since we were owed four weeks.
The camp had closed down for a month for the Christmas break so no-one knew where we were. We got lost in The System and had to find out where the hell Brighton was - that's where our flat was.
So, we had to find the railway station then walk to the address given to us as we could not afford a taxi.
It was so hot and coming from a winter to this weather was a big shock. Being as pale as we were the sun soon burned us and we had to be very careful to try to keep little David out of the sun.
The lady who was renting us the flat took pity on us and gave us cold drinks and drove us back to the station. We moved into the flat the next day - Christmas Eve - with just suitcases full of dirty washing. Hence bacon and eggs for Christmas dinner!
When the camp was back from the holidays, Dave had to find Edinburgh Field, the camp he was to report to. He had no idea where it was or how far away it was.
When he found it, we discovered it just too far to travel every day. So, after about a month, we got a new house in Elizabeth where most of the other Forces people lived. But there was a catch; it was not a married quarter.
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Then we decided we would come back! Emigrate to Australia!
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It was empty, no furniture, so we had to get ourselves into debt to buy every thing we needed. In the Forces you don't own furniture because you are always on the move and everything you own has to be able to be packed into small wooden crates. Our crate was on a boat somewhere.
But we did it like so many other families had to do!
My husband was working on missiles which were sent off to the rocket range at Womera. We had three wonderful years there until we were posted back home to RAF Waddinton - this time with two children in tow!
My husband always thought the RAF was his going to be his career as he was an apprentice at RAF Halton, but things had changed.
The Labour Government had started to cut back the Service so he was unable to sign back on. So, for two years we wondered what to do. Then, the decision was made! We would come back! Emigrate to Australia!
In those two years we saved like mad and in 1968 came out with £2,000 in our pockets. But this time we were on our own, no families officer to look after us!
We arrived in Sydney and, because of Dave's trade, we got State sponsorship and Government sponsorship. All that meant was we did not have to go to one of the hostels - we were provided with a furnished flat.
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When I was young all I could think about was getting away from Newcastle and my life there, but as you get older you begin to miss so many things.
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Dave got work with Ansett Airlines and had to move to a small country town out in the bush called Dubbo. It was very hot for Poms just in from the UK! We stayed for just 18 months as it was too hot and the money wasn't that good!
So, we moved again, this time with a six-week-old baby as an addition to the family and ended up near Sydney.
Over the years we have moved a lot, done lots of things and now I think we have settled down! It seems that every five years we get itchy feet!
We have lived in this area now for a number of years. It is a small coastal town called Nowra and we live in one of the small outlying villages near the beach and the lake. Infact we live one street back from the lake which is very handy as we sail and race a 22ft yacht.
When I was young all I could think about was getting away from Newcastle and my life there, but as you get older you begin to miss so many things:
The pubs with the singing on Saturday night; Walking home eating fish and chips! Stotty cake, Pease Pudding, pork pies and sweets! Christmas in the snow! But most of all, I think, New Year's Eve and the first footing.
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We have tried cold Christmas dinners at the beach but didn't like it!
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I miss the Geordie sense of humour. Now I love the accent but when I have had family here on holidays from Newcastle my children don't understand a word they say! But think they are just great fun to be with and love them dearly.
Our Christmas Day is usually very hot - around the 100ºF - but we have the traditional roast turkey and all the trimming regardless!
We sit around the dinner table in swimsuits ready to go for a swim after dinner in the swimming pool at my daughter's house or to the beach. We have tried cold Christmas dinners at the beach but did not like it!
Nor do we like seafood for Christmas: It's just not Christmas without the hot turkey dinner and Christmas pudding!
However, I have made one concession for my Australian son-in-laws; trifle and Summer pudding! But now they are getting used to eating hot Christmas dinners not cold ones!
Three years ago I came back to England for my 60th birthday and it was just wonderful to see all my family who now live in Peterborough.
I have cousins who still live in Newcastle and I was able to get to visit them.
The changes were unbelievable! The pub food was excellent everywhere we went. I was so impressed! And the weather was kind to me, but one thing I did find hard to get used to was going to bed when it was still light!
I have so many fond memories of that trip. I was taken to Beamish Museum and, boy, did that bring the memories back! The old clippy mats, the houses, the irons! It was wonderful to see: It was like living our childhood all over again!
I do hope both of us will get back again soon. My husband has never been back to England since we arrived here in 1968.
I really don't mind being called an ex pat. For a very long time Newcastle and England were home, and still are, but we used to get told 'this is your home now, and to fit in you have to make some changes!'
English people, or Poms we are called, have a bad reputation for whingeing!
Some of them really are a pain, always complaining, but we have never had anything but kindness from all we have met.
But I still call my self a Geordie Lass.......!
Copyright (c) 2000-2001 Sue Kelly