Summary
Image of Poem written by Miss Eve Haynes who migrated to Australia from England on the New Australia with her family, aged 14, in December 1955. They spent their first few days at the Migrant Reception Centre at the (Royal) Exhibition Building. The poem describes her first impressions of life at the centre and in Australia.
Hydranges in their bright brass pots,
Children, Mums and Tiny Tots,
Lunch bell rings and in they rush
and gobble up the lot.
Shiny boards and dusty feet,
cranky cook to cross too speak,
bathroom doors that do not shut
and in he peeps.
Take a trip out to the 'Gully'
in a rattler there's no hurry,
baby left behind at home,
now he's grown.
In a street so long and bright
all a glitter late at night,
eyes of men out on the prowl,
that's not right;;.
Sirens wail and trams pass by,
sun beams down from summer sky,
to this place that we have come,
our new home.
The horses tied up at the post,
on a visit to our host,
Magpies call from tree to tree
life's so free.
Description of Content
Typed poem of six stanzas on a white page.
Physical Description
Black and white slide.
More Information
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Collection Names
Research Photograph Collection, Royal Exhibition Building Collection
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Collecting Areas
Migration & Cultural Diversity, Public Life & Institutions, Royal Exhibition Building
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Acquisition Information
Copied from Unknown Source
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Author
Miss Eve Haynes, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, circa 1957
While the poem records Eve's impressions of her first few days in Australia in December 1955 it was written several years later. -
Place & Date Depicted
Royal Exhibition Building (REB), Carlton Gardens, Melbourne, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Dec 1955
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Format
Slide, 35 mm, Black & White
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Keywords
Immigration, Popular Culture, British Immigration, Royal Exhibition Building: Migrant Reception Centre, Royal Exhibition Building: History of Events, 1950-1959