Ken Wallace
| Town/City | Chester le Street, County Durham |
|---|---|
| First name | Ken |
| Last name | Wallace |
| Country of Origin | UK |
| Date of Birth | 25/05/46 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1972 |
| Submitted by | Ken Wallace |
Story
My father Kenneth Ross Henderson Wallace and my mother Brenda Elizabeth Catleugh emigrated to Adelaide South Australia in November 1972 with myself Kenneth Scott Wallace and my sibling/Brother Ross Alexander Henderson Wallace from Edinburgh Scotland. As a family I think my parents wanted something better for themselves and us, as life in Edinburgh was tough, the weather was always dreadful and family life wasn’t good there.
As I was only 18 months old I don’t remember the journey myself but can recall the many times my parents talked about the experience. We left Edinburgh and travelled by 2 trains (1 from Edinburgh to London and then the other from London to Southampton), this is where the Greek Ocean Liner the ‘Ellemis’ was waiting for us to board for our very long trip to a new life in Oz. I believe the route the ship took was leaving Southampton, down through the Mediterranean, down the Suez Canal, around and down to Capetown, across to Singapore and then down to Fremantle Western Australia. From the stories I’ve heard, we nearly fell overboard, drank the seasalt water from the 2 pools on board and was violently sick, watched the girls have baked beans and food stuff dumped on them in a traditional ceremony to mark crossing the equator, myself and my brother Ross were nearly kidnapped in Capetown as we apparently looked like 2 cute Scottish kids wearing kilts and after reaching Fremantle we then had to spend 2 days on a greyhound bus driving across the Nullarbor to reach our new home in Adelaide South Australia.
My parents have sworn NEVER to return back to the UK, my father did once return to see his sick mother and that was the only time he ever stepped on British soil again. He swears by his new life in Oz but that didn’t stop me returning in 1989 – I have been here since. Although I love Australia it’s not my home anymore. I think what my parents immediately loved was the amazing weather, open spaces and large houses with massive back gardens and all the amazing wildlife.