emmanuel psaila
| First name | emmanuel |
|---|---|
| Last name | psaila |
| Country of Origin | malta |
| Date of Birth | 23/07/15 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1947 |
| Submitted by | anthony psaila |
Story
My father was married with three young children and Malta was not a place to be after the war. As all his friends leaving for overseas he decided to go to Australia- Canberra infact , leaving his family behind in summer 1947
The ship left Malta – the passengers were all men, and the journey was for approximately six weeks. It was like being on an adventurer – because he was ex Royal Navy he did not experience seasickness, so he injoyed the trip.
Destination Sydney – he thought Sydney was a beautiful place so he was happy until he arrived in Canberra. There he stood on the railway station nothing but bush all around him and it was cold so they put all the men on a bus and took them to their accommodation The acommodation was a row of tents at Fairbairn in the middle of nowhere – you can imagine Canberra in the middle of winter – he absolutely hated the place but because he signed for 2 yrs he had no choice but stay. He lived until 1980 and hated every day not decause of Australia – he just loved Malta. He had to stay as Mum would not go back to Malta there was no work in Malta at that time, so we stayed in Canberra. It was the best thing Mum did. I thank my mother and father for bringing us to Australia.