Lionel Adams-Acton

Story

I left England with my family in January 1965. There was my Father (Andrew), my Mother (Jean) and my sister (Monica). I was 13. We were moving to Australia because my Father changed his employer. He was an airline navigator and he moved from BOAC to QANTAS.

We flew BOAC (travelling “Staff”) in a westerly direction. We went through the USA (stopping at New York and San Fransisco and Hawaii). We were off-loaded in Hawaii for 12 hours. Our luggage went a different way. It had a holiday in the Carribean and South America before returning to us some 3 months later.

I was suprised the airport was so close to the city. I was amazed by the smells on the way to the city. I still remember the smell of rotting horses. The sky was very bright and the sea very pretty. Sand on the beach was a little strange. We all got new clothing and stuff as our luggage was lost. It took a month before we moved into our new house in Avalon/Bilgola. At school I had a fight every day after school for 2 weeks just because I was a pom. I didn’t know how racist Australia was until I got there. I soon learned that it was not my fault. It took me a further five years before I began to like Australians, by that time I had served my apprenticeship.

I did my HSC in 1969, went to Uni from 1970 to 1980. I was a concientious objector during the Vietnam War and didn’t go. I went travelling from 1984 to 1987 since then I have worked in welfare, had 2 kids and live on the Far North Coast of NSW in paradise that I owe no money on.

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