Anton AMBROZ

Story

At the end of WWII I was a displaced person in a camp in Villach, Austria. Returning to Slovenia for me was not an option due to the political situation there. An English Army Co. of Engineers needed people to work in their mess and I volunteered to do so. During my time there I was told of opportunities for young men in ‘one of their colonies Ð Australia’. Some time later the Australian Minister for Immigration, Mr Arthur Calwell, visited the camp and asked for young men to emigrate to Australia to work. After screening I was lucky to be chosen and, with idea of cutting sugar cane in sunny Queensland, looked forward to the challenge.

After travelling to Aversa near Naples in Italy, I then sailed to Australia on the SS Protea. During the voyage single men had to work in the galley helping to prepare meals. We were given a carton of cigarettes which I traded for fresh fruit from vendors at the Suez Canal. My first sight of Australia was a day in Fremantle and then on to Sydney and then an overnight train journey to a migrant camp in Bathurst. I was only there for two weeks, but, I was fascinated by the colourful birdlife Ð I had never seen such pretty birds before.

Volunteers were sought from this camp to prepare Brighton Army Camp in Tasmania for the expected influx of migrant families, and, as I had cooking experience in Austria, I, along with 48 others, journeyed to Brighton as cook for them. While waiting for the train in Sydney to take us to Melbourne, I remember being amazed at the children in school uniforms Ð such a contrast to the rags and tatters I had worn to school! We were given 17/6d ($1.75) for meals for the journey and, as we had the whole day to fill in before we caught the train, we had a trip to Taronga Park.

We left Sydney and travelled to Albury where we had to change trains, but the Victorian railway was on strike so we were taken to Melbourne by bus. Eventually we boarded the infamous ‘Taroona’ Ð we had travelled from Naples to Sydney without any sign of seasickness but the ‘Taroona’ and Bass Strait brought us undone Ð everyone was sick! I was at Brighton Army Camp for a two year contract, but at the end of the year, the camp was up and running and I was relieved of my contract. I obtained work at the zinc smelter near Hobart.

My younger brother arrived also from Austria during this time and after his contract in South Australia ended he joined me in Hobart. We bought a block of land and built a two room weatherboard shack on it. We then learnt how to build a proper house where we lived happily together, parting when we each married Tasmanian girls.

I remained at the zinc smelter for 36 years working shift work and rose to the position of shift boss in the roasting division. My wife and I had two children and we now have five grandchildren. We brought my mother, sister and her daughter and later my oldest brother out to join us in Tasmania. I have never regretted my decision to come to Australia and as I always say, my life began the day I set foot in Tasmania-so much for sunny Queensland!

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