Evelin Hegyesi (Part 1)
| First name | Evelin |
|---|---|
| Last name | Hegyesi (Part 1) |
| Country of Origin | Germany |
| Date of Birth | 11.01.47 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1949 |
| Submitted by | Evelin Hegyesi |
Story
Part 1
My Parents Anton and Theresa Hegyesi met in Bavaria just after WW2 ended. My father was a Hungarian refugee, my mother Austrian/German. They married on 11.11.45. I (Evelin) was born on 11.01.47. Both my parents believed there would be a better life away from war-torn Europe and Communism. The International Refugee Organization in Schweinfurt Germany offered them the choice of going to Australia or South America. As they had nothing, spoke only German and Hungarian and knew nothing much of either place and couldn’t decide, they came up with a very brave way of choosing where to go. My mother placed a crucifix under one of the pillows on their bed and asked my father to choose. The crucifix would be Australia; the other would be South America. Our family was blessed with our father’s unknowing choice of the crucifix. Australia it would be.
On 18.08.49 we left Marklhofen for Plattling and slept overnight with the bedbugs at the railway station. Early next day a special train took the migrants to Schweinfurt. A converted school was the screening camp. We were examined by a doctor and met the Australian officials. All the selected left Schweinfurt by train on 20.09.49 for Italy. We travelled night and day. Mum helped cut the sandwiches for everyone on the train while I slept under my father’s watchful eye and was given extra fruit for her help. 21.09.49 at night, we arrived near the sea in Senegal. There was a big hall where we were deloused and sprayed all over. We were fed and had a good sleep. After 3 days, we went by special train to Capua, near Naples at the River Po where we stayed in a Tent Camp. We went through another screening and on the 15.10.49 left by trucks for Naples, where a big American Troop Carrier, the “General Blatchford” was waiting for us. There were 1,080 passengers, of about ten nationalities, all heading for Australia. The women and men were separated. Mum and I shared a big cabin with 40 women and children. My father was with the men and boys. Mum worked in the ship’s cr�che for a week. Then all the children got measles. I stayed in the ship’s hospital, with the other infected children for the rest of the trip. My mother stayed with me.
The crew on the ship was American, mostly blacks. The migrant leader was a Scot, Mr. McKenzie. My father worked as a Cinema operator and Disc Jockey. He was chosen out of four hopefuls. Our first stop was Aden, where we saw our first bunch of bananas. Nobody was allowed to leave the ship, but the handlers came aboard. A B.I.X. shop opened and we each got coupons and were free to shop. My parents bought chocolates and cigarettes. There was plenty of everything and lots of good food. Until now, I had never eaten an egg in my life. Until I got the measles, I ate not only mine, but also my mother’s egg for breakfast every day.
Second stop was Colombo. November 1st, the ship broke down and it took one and a half days to fix it. It was terrible. No air-conditioning and ankle deep water in the bathroom. Most got seasick, the smell was awful.
The third stop was Fremantle. Nobody knew where we would land. Next day, we sailed into Sydney. At 5am on the 11.11.49 we came through the heads. What a beautiful harbour! We cried as we went under the Harbour Bridge. At 8pm that night we were taken off the ship and bundled into a special train. The three of us got a compartment with another Hungarian family. We travelled all night over the Blue Mountains. At 5am on the 12th November, we arrived in Bathurst. Special buses took us to a Camp about 15 miles from the town. The camp houses were made of grey corrugated iron and there were no trees. We got a room with a Lithuanian couple. We were all given a set of underwear, a skirt and blouse and cardigan, a pair of shoes, a plate and cup, fork, knife and spoon as well as a toilet roll, sheets and blankets for the beds and were given mealtimes served in the big mess room.
I and the other sick children were taken to the camp hospital, where I stayed for 4 days. Everyone got sick from the strange food….mutton and black tea. There was plenty of milk and fruit. After a month, on 12.12.49, we were taken by train to Parkes, where we stayed over Christmas and New Year and were given a Christmas Party. Here we became friends with another Hungarian family, with children my age with whom I loved to play.