Michael Peter Larobina (Part 1 of story)

Story

This story was found amongst Michael\’s belongings after his death in 2004.

JOURNEY TO A NEW HOME

My first glimpse of Australia was at Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne. I was then six years old. My destination was Sydney where I was to meet my father who had migrated to Australia a year earlier.

After the ship berthed at Melbourne my mother was persuaded by some shipboard friends to visit the outskirts of the city. Holding my mother\’s hand we left the ‘Oceania’ to have a look at Melbourne. Much to my surprise there were very few people on the wharf compared to the number I saw at Messina. To this day I can still picture an old Australian sitting on the edge of the pier fishing with a long rod. His trousers were rolled up to his knees, an old blue/grey jumper covered his chest & he wore a sailor\’s hat on a slant. Other people were walking around, talking in a strange tongue that I had never heard before.

Having taken a stroll along the wharf Mum & her friends decided to venture further into the city. Still holding my hand my elders led me to an adjoining street. There I was astounded by the wide use of motor transport; many powerful buses were carrying people away into the city. The women were dressed strangely & I could no longer see them carrying baskets of vegetables on their heads as they had done in my native town. Donkeys & mules were replaced by shiny new cars.

To my right there were a number of small yachts which aroused my interest.’ Can I go on one of these, Mum?’ I asked joyfully. ‘No, otherwise the ship will leave without us.’

Disgusted at not being able to go on one of the small boats I started to cry & stamp my feet. That was a fatal mistake on my part, for no sooner had I started protesting than I received a few whacks on my behind. This action brought the promenade to a halt. Not long after we were back aboard the ship waiting for the last leg of the journey to Sydney. We went to our cabin where my mother started to cry with the emotion while passengers in nearby cabins could be heard laughing for joy.

‘It will not be long before you see your father’. Mum burbled out in her happiness. ‘No longer will you go to bed hungry or cold.’ She then hugged me tightly. ‘What\’s Dad like, Mum? ‘I asked. ‘How big is he? Can he talk in that funny tongues like the people at the port?’ ‘You\’ll soon find out,’ she explained, patting me on the head.

Later in the afternoon I felt the throb of the engines, which meant that we were leaving for Sydney. I begged my mother to go on deck with me to see the ship depart. We climbed a few flights of stairs & walked to the rear of the ship where Mum sat on a deck chair with some friends. Leaving her side I walked to the stern of the ship to watch the churned up water. Trying to get a better view of what was disturbing the water I lay on my stomach & looked over the edge. Not thinking of danger I crept further & further over the side leaving less & less of my body on deck .The next thing I remember is a scream & I felt someone clutch my leg a pull me to safety. Safety! What irony! After a lecture on what could have happened I received a little spanking as a reminder not to do anything so stupid again.

Then I must have fallen asleep because when I awoke the sun\’s rays were piercing the porthole &, as if by magic, lit up the whole cabin. Looking out of the porthole all that could be seen was a large expanse of sea. Land was nowhere in sight.

With the excitement of seeing my father I couldn\’t go back to sleep that morning even though it was very early. I fell into a dream world trying desperately to picture my new home & my father whom I couldn\’t remember. Was he tall, fat or thin? Could he understand the strange new language? What of the home,was it large or small? My thoughts were interrupted by the usual knock at the door by one of the stewards reminding passengers to have their cabins cleared for cleaning. Throughout that day my mind was clouded with these new thoughts. Later in the morning, just after breakfast, we moved along with the crowd & went up on deck. I kept on looking out to sea in the same direction that the ship was taking, as if expecting my father & the new home to come bouncing over the waves. The day passed slowly with the passengers participating in the usual shipboard activities. As we were told by the blaring speaker of our anticipated arrival in Sydney the following day I was swept along by the others\’ excitement & cheered with them.

See Part 2

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