Frank Tulic

Story

Frank Tulic

I, Frank Tulic, was born in born in Blato, population approximately 6,500 on an island, Korcula in former Yugoslavia now Croatia on the 1st August 1948.

The life of the people in the area was a struggle to live off the patches of land inherited from our parents, and later divided into smaller patches between the numbers of sons that you, the next generation may produce. Hopefully in your lifetime, you might be able to purchase a small patch of land from another family to increase your holdings, but your best hope was to marry a girl with no brothers and some land to her inheritance. There was no possibility to buy a home of your own, so after marriage, you, your bride and any children just had to live with your parents until they passed away. Should you have any brothers, after marriage, they joined you in the parents house and it’s a squeeze to accommodate them all. It would be a crowded house as most homes were two to four rooms only. There was no bathroom and a toilet outside was erected wherever it could be squeezed in.

The land produced olives for oil, grapes for wine, figs and vegetables – enough to sustain you, with very little leftover for sale to give you a cash income however small.

My whole life would have been a struggle to survive, like generations before me did, rarely being able to travel more than 100kms away and that would be out of necessity rather than recreational purposes.

I was rescued from this dim future by my father Nikola Tulic and the Catholic Immigration Assistance program when I was nine years old.

Dad arrived in Australia in 1956 with the idea of working hard for a year or two and return with money saved to finish off the additions to the family home and possibly purchase more land.

Dad loved the liberty, equality and the prospects of a better future for his family here in Australia.

Within 1 years, he had paid a deposit on a block of land with a large garage and was living in Merrylands, Sydney. With the assistance of the Catholic Immigration Scheme, dad was able to bring his wife (my mum) and three children (Frana, Danica and I) to Australia to join him.

We travelled to Australia in 1957 on a ship named Toscana. Our voyage lasted over eight weeks, giving me wonderful life-long memories and amusing stories that my children still ask about.

Dad offered to finance me through a University education but a scholar I was not to be: I left school at 16 years old and started an apprenticeship as a fitter-machinist.

Upon completion of my apprenticeship, I was called up for two years National Service in 1970 and served my time with the 6th Battalion R.A.R. in Townsville, Queensland and also Singapore and Malaysia.

After National Service, I resumed civilian life, married my wife Carolyn in 1974 and raised three beautiful daughters: Tarnia, Samantha and Lisa in a home of our own, on tradesman wages.

Life became easier when Carolyn returned to the workforce in 1990.

With careful planning and saving, we managed to travel many times to New Zealand – the birthplace of my wife. We have also travelled to many parts of Australia, West Coast of America, Hawaii, Europe, Croatia with my dad, and back again to Blato in Croatia after my eldest daughter and her husband Adam married in Santorini, Greek Islands in 2004.

I love this sunburnt country and had no regrets when we eliminated Croatia from the 2006 FIFA Football World Cup (soccer).

I have had a happy life and thank God for my and also my family’s good health and life.

I thank my family for the love they share with me. I also thank my parents for raising me, helping me in life and most of all for bringing me to Australia. I live my life in a way to Advance Australia Fair.

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