Betty & Tom Eager
| Town/City | Bairnsdale |
|---|---|
| First name | Betty & Tom |
| Last name | Eager |
| Country of Origin | Scotland |
| Date of Birth | 11/1/1937 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1961 |
| Submitted by | Elizabeth (Betty) Eager |
Story
As a young married couple with a one year old daughter we decided to start a new life in Australia. My husband was a newly qualified accountant and felt he could make a better life in Australia. He applied for three situations in Melbourne and was accepted by all. He chose a firm called Wilson, Bishop & Henderson and so our journey to Australia began. Saying good-bye to family and friends was a huge task, so with exactly 100 pounds to our name and many shed tears we were on our way..
Our journey started with a train journey from Glasgow to Southampton to board our ship the FAIRSEA.
I was totally unprepared for the 5 weeks journey with a one yr old. My husband was very seasick for the first 2 weeks and life on board was no luxury cruise. We did meet some lovely fellow passengers and have remained friendly with one particular couple who are godparents to our second born daughter (our first Australian). We arrived in Melbourne via Fremantle right on Easter.
We stayed 2 yrs in Melbourne where our 2nd daughter was born. My husband was offered a position in country Victoria in a small accountancy practice which he accepted. Our third child, a boy, was born in Bairnsdale and two years later we adopted a fourth child, a boy. Times were not all that rosy but eventually my husband bought out the then small practice which is now a thriving business named Eager & Partners. We became Australian citizens in 1990 and my claim to fame is that my story about becoming an Australian citizen along with a patchwork square that I made was accepted and is now part of the Australian Citizenship Quilt ,which is held in the National Museum. My husband and I attended the unveiling in Canberra which was quite a thrill.
We have made many trips back to our homeland and quite a few family members have travelled to Australia to visit us.
We now have nine grandchildren and this year of 2009 we will celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary. Now in our retirement years life is good and we look forward to many more years in Australia.