Edward (Ted) Lipsham
| First name | Edward (Ted) |
|---|---|
| Last name | Lipsham |
| Country of Origin | Portsmouth UK |
| Date of Birth | 30/08/32 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1957 |
| Submitted by | Jackie Lipsham |
Story
After three years in Africa doing my National Service I had a problem with the weather in the UK and a desire to see a bit more of the world, so Australia it was. My Auntie Bib was living here and she sponsored me for my new life down under.
I joined many other people travelling on tne P.O.Otranto and apart from getting oil in the water lines and breaking down in the Indian ocean, it was an uneventful trip but enjoyable.
We arrived first in Fremantle where we asked a taxi driver to take us to the bus station and he took my shipmates and me all the way into Perth!!! – at a cost which was a bit stiff as we had come all the way from England for the same “Ten Pound”. Lesson learnt, we had a lovely day and were very impressed …. next stop Sydney. I had a little difficulty at first obtaining employment but eventually got a job at the Newcastle Dockyard. This was where I became Ted instead of Eddie. As the “new boy” I had to make the morning tea, but thought the billies were all pretty dirty so proceeded on my first day to scrub them out. I was nearly lynched. It had taken the boilermakers years to get them like that. I found out all the terms of endearment they saved for ” ten pound poms”… Life settled down, I went to work in Tamworth for NCR and met my wife. We married, had two boys and I was on my way with the Oz connection to the Lipsham Dynasty. I am now blessed with five lovely grandchildren , two of them boys to carry on the name in Australia. We now live in Canberra and enjoy life immensely. It was a great decision to come but I was only going to stay for two years, that was 51 years ago.
Ted Lipsham, 2008