Chris Malcolm

Story

In the mid 70’s my mother and I arrived in Australia, with my father following 12 months later. However, my story starts well before that.

My Mother was born in South Africa, but being dissatisfied with that county\’s apartheid policies she decided, in the late 40\’s, to move north. First, to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and then to Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), teaching in various Mission schools, believing that by helping educate the indigenous population she was helping to empower them to meet the challenges facing them in the future.

My father, an Englishman, had served in the British Royal Navy during the war and was based in Simonstown, South Africa. He loved Africa so much that as soon as he was demobbed at the end of the war, he immediately came back to Africa in search of adventure.

My parents met in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and after a short courtship got married and settled in that country. My father went on to become the Power and Stock Controller for the Railway system in what was then known as the ‘Federation\’, a partnership between Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland (now Milawa).

I was born in a thatched roof covered hospital in Livingston, on the Zambezi River, only a short distance from the Victoria Falls, better known locally, as Musi-o-tunya (Smoke that thunders). Growing up in the Zambezi Valley was a great experience, full of excitement and adventure. The great variety of wild life roaming the vast expanse of land, big rivers and plains. My best and most memorable experiences were the long weekends, spent with my parents on the Zambezi River, or one of its tributaries, fishing for Tiger Fish. In the evenings, as dusk fell, we would sit around after a great day of fishing; watch the elephants cross from one side of the river to the other and see great flocks of Cranes and other birds, flying high above us to far away places.

As the turmoil and turbulence in Central African gained momentum, I spent some time in South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, and Botswana. I lived in Zambia (Northern Rhodesia) when it gained independence and saw first hand how one of the best managed emerging African States changed from white to black rule. I had the pleasure of personally meeting Dr Kenneth Kawunda who led Zambia through all those years to final independence.

During some of the most violent years of that period, my mother and I spent some time in England where I got some of my high school education. Whilst my mother loved the peace and quiet, and the rolling green fields of Devon, my father yearned for the excitement of Africa and so, before long, we returned to Zambia, making our home in Broken Hill (Kabwe). Spending many of my school holidays on maize and tobacco farms, hunting, and looking for snakes, as at that time I was interested in becoming a Zoologist specialising in snakes. When the turbulence and fighting in Central Africa reached a frenzied state, my parents began to look for some other place to move to which was less turbulent and more peaceful then Africa. England, my father used to say, was too cold; therefore, they were looking for a place that resembled more closely the weather in Africa.

As one of my mother\’s sisters had immigrated to Australia some years earlier and settled in Adelaide, South Australia, my parents decided that Australia was the place to be and made the move.

My mother and I flew to Australia and landed in Perth, where friends welcomed us and took us to their home, and gave us breakfast at 5 o’clock in the morning. I recall being offered vegemite on toast and some muesli. I was so disgusted by the taste of this unfamiliar food that it took me some 20 years before I could face muesli for breakfast again.

My father remained in Africa for another 12 months trying to sell our property there and get some money to fund our re-settlement in Australia. Eventually he gave up and joined us in Adelaide, empty-handed.

In Adelaide, I met and married Nicole Corneloup, a ‘Pied Noir’, which means ‘Black Foot\’ in French. A term used by the French to describe a French citizen born in Algeria, North Africa. Ours was a marriage of different cultures, language and traditions; we worked hard to make a go of it, and have done so with great success. Within 12 years we decided to start a family and have now three children; Nadege, our eldest daughter and 2 boys; Didier and Jean-Phillipe.

Australia is a wonderful country. Peaceful and friendly, where people take you at face value and give you a fair go. A land of opportunity, where everyone has an equal chance to make a go of it.

Thank you, Australia.

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