Darinka Ballat (nee Abramovic)
| Town/City | Canberra |
|---|---|
| First name | Darinka |
| Last name | Ballat (nee Abramovic) |
| Country of Origin | Yugoslavia |
| Date of Birth | 12/7/1950 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1962 |
| Submitted by | Darinka Ballat (nee Abramovic) |
Story
We left for freedom, a better life and opportunities for our family. I grew up with my Grandparents on a property called Gradinje. When I turned 11 my mother and stepfather took me to Buje where I joined my siblings (Anita (9), Anton (5) and Mary (3)). There I went to school for 8 months and learnt Italian. In Buje conditions were harsh. Food was scarce. Work was scarcer. Dad was arrested for trying to run away to Italy (he was planning to send for us later). Mum had to find food and shelter. The police tried to evict us because the house we occupied (which was vacant) had not been allocated to us. Dad was released and the family secretly arranged to run away across the border to Italy on 6 January 1961.
Only one member of the family was allowed to enter Italy for supplies. Mum took her visa into Italy to do some “shopping” and the rest of the family left separately pretending to go on a “picinic”. We only had the clothes we were wearing in order to avoid suspicion, knowing that when night fell, it was going to be a long, cold night. We walked several kilometres and climbed across a stone wall to avoid the border guards who had orders to shoot (I always suspected that we were seen but the guards turned a blind eye because of the children). I will never know.
We crossed the border and hailed a taxi, who took us to an Aunt’s house, where we were fed, washed and rested. From there we moved to an Italian Immigration Camp near Trieste and another in Latina. Nine months later we were granted Australian citizenship. Our ship the “Sydney” left Napoli and we arrived in Fremantle, Australia on 16 September 1962. From there we took a train to a camp in Bonagilla. We were there for 2 days until my uncle John Runko collected us and brought us to Canberra, where we have lived ever since.
Canberra was a nice small town and it was wonderful to be reunited with the rest of our extended family. There was lots of food. We shared a house with a family in Hacket and Dad got a job within a month, and purchased a car.
I now have an amazing life with a gorgeous husband (Mark) two wonderful sons (Michael and Gules), their wives (Tanya and Julia) and 4 beautiful grand daughters (Ashley, Sophie, Mia and Sachi).
Thank you for reading my story.