Carl-Eric Mann

Story

On Leaving

Carl-Eric Mann first travelled to Australia during the late 1940s as an adventurous young sailor on board ‘Passat’, one of the last of the merchant sailing ships, or Tall Ships, that plied the trade routes between Europe, Australia and North America. He took an instant liking to the country, its climate and its people, whom he described as some of the friendliest he\’d ever met.

When ‘Passat’ was sold in 1951, he returned to Finland, married and gained work in a local shipyard. The climate was bleak and there was constant talk of another Russian invasion. Carl-Eric was restless and he thought longingly of Australia so, with his wife Gunnel, he made plans to emigrate.

Inflation was running at an all-time high, and it took five years to save the fare. Finally, in December 1956, Carl-Eric, Gunnel and daughter Maria began their voyage.

The Journey

The first day of the journey, between Helsinki and Stockholm, was the worst of the entire voyage, as the ship had to contend with a violent winter storm. Carl-Eric was one of the few passengers who turned up to eat that night.

The next day the family took a train from Stockholm to Copenhagen, where they rested while their paperwork was finalised. From there, they took another train to Cuxhaven in Germany, where they boarded their ship ‘Castel Felice’. A day later, after the arrival of 300 Hungarian refugees who had taken part in that country\’s anti-Soviet uprising and who were also joining the ship, they finally left Europe.

The Suez Canal was closed so the ship had to sail the long way around Africa, via the Canary Islands and Cape Town. When they finally arrived in Fremantle, excitement turned to disappointment when they were not permitted to disembark. There were no migrant hostels in Western Australia able to take them so they continued on to Melbourne. From here they were sent to the Bonegilla Migrant Camp near Albury-Wodonga. It was a hot January day, with bushfires all around, as they caught the train to their first home in Australia.

On Arrival

The first few weeks were difficult; Carl-Eric had tonsillitis and Maria contracted measles; and both spent weeks in hospital. Even so, Carl-Eric immediately felt at home. He got a job in a local sawmill, before moving the family to South Australia where he had some contacts and good prospects of work.

Carl-Eric and Gunnel soon moved into a little rented house on a small farming property in the foothills of Adelaide. Here their second daughter Carol was born. The West still beckoned and, in 1962, Carl-Eric hitched their new caravan to their old car and they made the long, dusty trip across the Nullarbor.

About a year later, after a few breaks in the journey for Carl-Eric to work and for Gunnel to give birth to their third child Eric, they settled in Carnarvon. Here they established a banana plantation and market garden and brought up their family.

Carl-Eric loved the place. He loved the wide open spaces, the peace and quiet, the pioneering opportunities and working his own land. He loved roaming through the outback, meeting its characters and fossicking for gold and semi-precious stones. Many years later, he completed the circle and moved back to South Australia.

At no time did he consider returning to Finland.

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