Elizabeth Bermingham
| Town/City | Blue Haven NSW |
|---|---|
| First name | Elizabeth |
| Last name | Bermingham |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | 10/19/1943 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1969 |
| Submitted by | Elizabeth Bermingham |
Story
Reason for leaving homeland – Opportunities for advancement for my husband’s career in engineering.
Also coming from a small village there was more scope for my young daughter to develop.
About the Journey – Sad leaving my family, particularly my grandmother who I realised I would never see again. Very nervous on Qantas as it was my first long flight. It made three stops, Pakistan, Iran and Singapore. It was early May and I had never experienced heat like Singapore. When I arrived in Sydney I was wondering if I had made the right choice but there was no turning back, it was for 2 years minimum.
There was a couple waiting to greet us from the new job my husband was going to, which made it easier. They had bought linen and arranged for a rental unit at Strathfield for us to go to.
I was surprised at seeing the industrial area coming from the airport to Strathfield, because of the film we were shown at Australia House, Leeds I expected kangaroos to be hopping all over the place. There was a variety of food I had never seen before and I soon put weight on as I was born in the war years and I was 10 when food rationing stopped. The shops were marvellous, completely different to what I was used to in the north east small town that I had left behind. I got a job pretty quickly at Slazengers, Alexandria and I am still living here after 40 years.