John & Janet Mills
| Town/City | Coromandel Valley 5051 |
|---|---|
| First name | John & Janet |
| Last name | Mills |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | 27/04/31 & 30/06/34 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1961 |
| Submitted by | Janet Mills |
Story
John Ivan age 30yrs & Janet Ella Mills nee Halls age 28yrs arrived at Port Adelaide on the SS Orontes June 1961 with two little girls Jennifer Ann 8yrs & Raewyn Jayne 6 yrs old from Meads Eastbourne. They loved their town, the nice weather, and people and friends they grew up with. Why did they leave their nice town and happy existence? John wanted some adventure in life and he thought this was it, they had no other reason to leave.
The journey to a young couple was wonderful, an adventure at an impressionable age, new places and different things. When they arrived at Port Adelaide the world stopped, what had they done, the place looked like a movie set of the Wild West, Pennington Hostel was a culture shock and some of the people unbelievable never to be forgotten. after 6 months they bought a small house at Tea Tree Gully, where the two girls grew up got their education, had good jobs and married. John worked at GMH Woodville for 26 yrs and Janet worked in the city for 30 yrs.
They finally moved to a new home at Coromandel Valley to be on the south side of the city to be nearer their children and 6 grandchildren, Narelle, Linda, Sally. Nicholas, Lauren & Sarah. Men take to a new life like a duck to water, but women never get over leaving a family, however many trips home they make. John & Janet are now in their 70’s they love the life here but so miss the Sussex Downs, and family long gone. Perhaps old age is a time to reflect and contemplate one’s past and wonder what else they might have done. They think that the first generation settlers are the ones who are torn between the past and the future, the second generation know Australia as home, and that is as it should be. When in England after a while they long to be in Australia, and in Australia they long to be in Sussex. Adelaide is a nice place to live, and to earn a living, who would not want that.
John & Janet never did anything notable, or became famous, they just were that part of life who are
stayers, the backbone of a nation. Those people who are unsung in life. The Mr & Mrs Nobodies
who live their lives and leave unnoticed. Amen
John Ivan & Janet Ella Mills nee Halls