Irmgard Fedulow
| Town/City | Sebastopol, Vic |
|---|---|
| First name | Irmgard |
| Last name | Fedulow |
| Country of Origin | Germany |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1953 |
| Submitted by | Irmgard Fedulow |
Story
The journey of my life (Picture of Anna Salen with Margaret and Irmgard in archive)
I was born in Germany. I immigrated to Australia with my family, which was my step father, mother, 3 brothers, and my 5 month old baby girl. I left Germany at Bremerhaven on the 14th of March 1953 on the ship M.S Anna Salen. We arrived in Melbourne at Station Pier April 18th 1953 after a gruelling 6 week trip. However it was an exiting trip, we sailed through the Suez Canal. I saw the Arab people on the land and they waved to us as we came through. It was very hot and it was interesting to see how the Arab people lived there and the strange clothes they wore. Luckily we had a swimming pool on board that my brothers and I put it to good use.
On the ship we were taught English. But it wasn\’t all work we had lots of fun as well. The ship held dances that we all went to. When we went across the Equator there was a festival on the ship where people dressed up in fancy costumes. That was a lot of fun and we were given a certificate to commemorate this event.
On arrival at Station Pier there were a lot of people there. We were happy to see land again. One of my brothers called out to the crowd ‘Do you have any girls here?’ Someone in the crowd yelled out ‘Don\’t worry mate, there are plenty of girls here!’
At Station Pier a train took us to Bonegilla, the largest migrant camp in Victoria. It was a very long journey. I was impressed with the large open spaces and beautiful countryside. It was already dark when we stopped at Ballarat during our rail journey for some refreshments. I did not know at the time but this is where I would eventually come to live.
No-one knew what to expect when we finally arrived at Bonegilla or where we would be placed. Women and children were separated from the men and we lived in tiny one room huts. This was only temporary until a job could be found for us.
For me I had a few short term jobs until we were all reunited together in Ballarat 3 months later. This is where my new life would begin and would continue to this very day.
By Irmgard Fedulow