gRAZIANO Smotlak
| Town/City | mANLY, sYDNEY |
|---|---|
| First name | gRAZIANO |
| Last name | Smotlak |
| Country of Origin | Italy |
| Date of Birth | 15/12/32 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1955 |
| Submitted by | Graziano SMOTLAK |
Story
Reason for leaving homeland – I was unemployed and Australia made a lot of advertising and I travelled on the ten pound scheme from Trieste, Italy. I was a young man of twenty-two.
We travelled on the Fairsea. We sailed through the Suez Canal before it closed. The majority were from Trieste. I bought a pair of British Army binoculars from Aden, the Red Sea. I still have them.
We arrived first at Fremantle. Many were sick, but I was O.K. As a young man, we took a bus into the town, we were too loud for the Australian bus driver and he wanted to drop us off in the middle of nowhere.
I was trained as a carpenter. I built many, many houses. I have never been one day out of work, till the day I decided to retire.