Brian Meynell
| Town/City | Tweed Heads NSW |
|---|---|
| First name | Brian |
| Last name | Meynell |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | 26/01/49 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1953 |
| Submitted by | Brian Meynell |
Story
My father Richard Septimus Meynell had emigrated to Australia as a child in 1922, but chose to visit England in 1938. His timing was poor because WW2 started in 1939.
After WW2, he decided to bring his wife Barbara (my mum) and three children, David 7, Carol 6 and me 4, to Australia because he thought Australia offered more possiblities, given the damage England, and Europe in general, had sustained due to the war.
We left Tilbury Docks in 1953 and travelled on the “Stratheden” via the Suez canal, to Fremantle WA (our first sight of Australia) and then on to Adelaide, where my father’s family were living. I got seasick on the way. I recall seeing divers in the water in Egypt diving for coins which were thrown overboard, and seeing them come up with the coins in their teeth. I can also recall the Egyptions abusing us in the Suez canal (because it was the time of the Suez crisis) My parents enjoyed the cruise after the war years in London where my mother lost friends, killed by Hitlers “Blitz”
I was only 4 at the time but Adelaide was hot and people spoke differently to people in London. We did like going to the beach. Our family grew up in Adelaide and I attended Adelaide Boys High School. I played Australian Rules Football but was a better cross country runner, and in 1963, I was one of four boys who won the state schoolboys Cross Country championship. I ran a mile one day at school and clocked 4 mins 52 seconds. I was a skinny 14 year old with no adult body strength, and the world record at the time (for an adult) was 3m59s.
I left school at the end of 1967 and joined the ANZ Bank. I worked for them for over 27 years and now live in Tweed Heads NSW (at the south end of the Gold Coast.)
My dear father died in 1999 and my mother still lives in Adelaide, as do my brothers (including Terry, born here in 1957) and my sister.
I am the father of Laura (born in 1986) and Michael (born in 1990) Laura was born on the same day that At Talak won the Melbourne Cup and Michael was born exactly 21 years to the day after man landed on the moon.
I would like to say that I feel very glad that we came to Australia when we did. Given the state of world at present, with all its troubles, and woes, Australia is a very good place to be.