Summary

Jean and Colin Austin migrated to Melbourne from England with their children Clive and Lisa in 1971.

Early Years:

Jean was born in Sunderland near Newcastle and Colin was from Watford near London. They met at Sheffield University and married in 1963. They lived in flats in Sheffield and Shropshire but when Colin got a job in Hull by the North Sea, the unforgiving climate made the newspaper advertisements promoting migration to Australia looked very enticing. They had talked idly about travel and suddenly the time seemed right.

Migrating to Australia:

Jean and Colin Austin migrated to Melbourne with their children Clive (born 1967) and Lisa (born 1969) in 1971. They came with $70 Australian dollars. It was a wrench to leave family behind so for Jean, this was to be a permanent relocation. They flew on a small plane (Jean recalls three sets of three seats) with five stops through the USA and Fiji over 40 hours.

Migrant Hostel Life:

The family first went to Eastbridge Migrant Hostel in Nunawading and was there for less than a week. The Nissen hut conditions were Spartan and extremely cold, while the first Christmas was extremely hot. Jean wrote an aerogram home to her family every week, always framed positively in the early years. With Colin's job located in Clayton, the family relocated to the Enterprise Hostel in Springvale where conditions were much more comfortable. The composition of residents was about 50% British, with the other half mostly migrants from Croatia with a few other nationalities such as Germans and French. The family remained at the Hostel for the maximum allowed period of 12 months. Then they rented for a short period while their house in The Basin was built.

Working Life:

Colin, a mechanical engineer, was able to arrange employment before leaving England with John's Hydraulics, makers of injection moulding machines. Jean, 29 when she arrived, had a graduate diploma in teaching and had a variety of teaching positions at schools in Melbourne including University High, and high schools in Springvale, Ferntree Gully and Bayswater. A representative from the State Savings Bank visited Eastbridge to advise on setting up bank accounts and suggested that teachers were in great demand. The hostel system offered very economical childcare services for working migrants. The migrant assistance covered all travel costs and offered nominal rent at the hostels.

A Return Trip:

The family returned to England for a visit in 1977 for six weeks. Jean's father had died during the lead up to the trip so she missed seeing him again. They visited family and friends around England, showing the children special places and also visited Paris. The couple established a business producing computer software for the plastic injector moulding industry.

Final Reflections:

Clive has remained in Melbourne with his family and Lisa lives in the UK. Jean reflects that she never regretted migrating to Australia and has always been extremely grateful for the support of the Australian Government and people which enabled them to settle here.

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