Albert Cachia

Story

Reasons for migrating

I was born in Alexandria Egypt in 1943, just after El Alamien and Tobruk stopped the German advance to the Suez Canal. My father “Anthony, a Maltese national serving with the British navy and stationed in Alexandria. My mother “Elizabeth” a Greek national whose mother had fled the Turkish ethnic cleansing of the Greeks from Istanbul (Constantinople)

During my parents wedding ceremony in Jan 1943 a number of Aussie soldiers on R & R heard the music and gatecrashed the wedding. A fortunate event as from discussions with Dad he decided to migrate away from war ravaged Europe to this country Australia, so fondly talked about by the Diggers.

After the war, we left Egypt for a bombed out Malta. In 1949 my parents decided to seek a better life in Australia. My father left first to find a job and accomodation for us. I was then 5 and my sister 1.

As a carpenter, dad came to Canberra to work on building houses in the capital and then worked on the Snowy project.

The Journey

Mum, my sister and I left Malta on the SS Columbia on the 21 November 1949 overloaded with 1075 migrants, the largest group ever to leave Malta. I was 6 but still vividly recall the stench, squallor and misery of people being sick, bunking in a dormitory with no privacy; at least 2 children dying and buried at sea. My mother insisted on better accomodation for us from the Captain and was given a small 1 bed cabin occupied by my sister and me while mum slept on the floor.

I was fortunate in that a ship’s officer took a liking to me and so I had special privledges such as first to the dining room sometimes and shore leave with him in Colombo Ceylon, where I walked hand in hand while he held his pistol with the other. No words can describe the 5 week journey, just to say it was hell.

Finally we reached Sydney to be reunited with my dad after 8 months.

Arrival and future

After a couple of weeks in Sydney we headed for Canberra where dad had rented a small bedroom in a family home. We all crammed in and I recall gathering and chopping wood for the stove and also to heat the water for our bath etc. in a shared kitchen and bathroom.

They were tough times but I recall my parents being happy and secure. We moved to Sydney and rented a home in Botany where my brother was born in Sept 1950. Soon after dad had to go bush to find work and we looked forward to the weekly pay cheques. Mum’s mother arrived and Ya Ya looked after us while mum got a job. Gradually they saved a deposit and bought the home they were renting in Botany,and some luxury items such as a refrigerator.

My dad insisted on a good education especially tertiary for us kids, saying he wanted us to have a better life than him and that while we could lose possessions such as in a war no one could steal our education.

I am now a Chartered Accountant and am approaching retirement after almost 50 years of continuous work both as an employee and an employer. I have 3 children, all with university degrees and into their own homes.

I think back to the hard life and sacrifices my parents made and thank them for their courage, work ethic and family committment they showed to give me and my family a good life in a secure environment that is Australia.

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