Ann SWIFTE (nee DUXBURY)

Story

I was born in Ormskirk, Lancashire England. I have a sister, Nina. We lived with our Grandparents before, and for a short time after, my Mothers death in 1944. My Father was poor and without a wife he was unable to look after my sister (Nina) and myself so we were placed in a Children’s Home in Ormskirk Lancashire.

In 1950 our life was to change dramatically. My sister and I were sent to Australia under the Child Migrant Scheme for “A better way of life”.

We sailed on the SS Ormond from Tilbury docks. In our group there were 5 girls including my sister and myself and 10 boys. I do not remember much about the journey except that we went along the Suez Canal. I think the trip took 8 weeks, I didn’t enjoy it much as I was very seasick. We berthed in Fremantle and that is were we left the boys. The girls traveled on to Tasmania.

Our new home was Clarendon Children’s Home in Kingston, Tasmania.

Life at Clarendon was mostly good. I have vivid memories of peeling buckets of potatoes, helping in the laundry to boil the sheets and using a very big mangle to squeeze out the excess water. There were also younger children to look after and many shoes to clean.

I went to Primary School at Kingston and then to Hobart High School. When my sister was 16 we were parted, she was sent to work for a family on a property to do household chores and help look after the children.

I had always wanted to be a Nurse and so when I was old enough (17yrs) I applied to the Royal Hobart Hospital and was accepted into the nursing course in 1956. I was no longer cared for by “Clarendon” and I lived in the Nurses Home at the hospital until I finished my training.

I used to spend my days off with “A friend of Clarendon”, Mrs Renney who ran a boarding house in North Hobart. It was here that I met my future husband, Peter Swifte. I used to spend a lot of time at Peter’s parents home in Claremont. Peter was my first boyfriend and we were married in 1962 after he had qualified as a Pharmacist.

Peter and I had a happy marriage. We built our first home in Hobart and then moved to Devonport where we opened our Pharmacy and built our second home. We later moved to Launceston where we purchased a house. We had four children, 2 boys and 2 girls. Unfortunately Mathew our last child died when he was 23 months.

I am very proud of our children, they have good jobs and are happily married. Anthony our eldest child married a divorcee and is living in Mackay, he has 2 stepsons and a son. Our daughters, Jenny and Lisa are both married and living in Launceston. My daughter Jenny has one son and a daughter, another son, Caleb was tragically killed at the age of 13. Lisa does not have any children.

I have worked most of my married life except for a 10 year break when our children were young.

After my graduation I continued nursing in Hobart until my first child was born. I then had a break from nursing and spent several years working part time in our Pharmacy until I returned to nursing in Devonport in 1972.

When we moved to Launceston I worked at the Queen Victoria Hospital and later at St Vincent’s Hospital where I became the Operating Room Supervisor and later Assistant Director of Nursing Management. My last role at St Vincent’s was Risk Manager, a role I occupied until my retirement in 2002.

I also returned to study as an External student and Graduated from the University of Tasmania with a Graduate Diploma of Business Management which I completed whilst working.

I did return to England in 1973 and met my Father. Our meeting was very emotional and tearful. I felt very privileged to meet him but I also felt like a stranger and sad for the lost family life I did not have. I did not bear him a grudge, after bringing up 3 children of my own I can only imagine how he felt when he was forced to let his two little girls go. We did not talk much about the past but he gave me a photo of Nina and myself that he had been carrying in his wallet. He told me it was the hardest thing he had to do in his life when he consented to allow us to go to Australia. My Father died in 1974

My sister Nina married a man from Sweden who was living in Tasmania. They moved to Sweden in 1972, Nina still lives there. Her husband, Roy Sjostrom died in 2007. I talk to her on the telephone but we are not as close as we should be. Regretfully the bond is not there as much of our life has been spent apart.

Life changed for me in 1999 when my beloved husband Peter died. I found this very hard to deal with as he was to me the love of my life and I will never forget the many happy years we had together.

I now have a new partner, a Danish gentleman named Kurt, who came to Australia with his wife & 4 children in 1973 and was later widowed.

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