Jessie, (aka Nettie) Howett (nee McGregor)
| Town/City | Wangi Wangi |
|---|---|
| First name | Jessie, (aka Nettie) |
| Last name | Howett (nee McGregor) |
| Country of Origin | Scotland |
| Date of Birth | 27/01/38 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1949 |
| Submitted by | Jessie Howett |
Story
We left Glasgow after WW11 to find a better way of life in “the promised land”, parents and 2 daughters. My parents paid the debts of a man and his Australian wife, who desperately wanted to return to her family. We were then nominated by her family who gave a false address as our new home. We actually came to live with a woman and her son in a residential garage with a small bedroom for our whole family. From there we moved 9 times in the next 2 years, finally building our own home.
We left Liverpool on 8 April 1949 on the Georgic, a converted troop ship, and the journey took 6 weeks. As there was unrest over the Suez Canal at that time, we were not allowed to leave the ship and did not set foot on land until we reached Melbourne (after waiting three days for a strike on the wharves to be settled).
Being 11 years old, the biggest impression I can remember was the neon lights and the many different fruits on display. We had come through 7 years of wartime conditions, including bombing and food shortages and had never seen a city lit up as Melbourne was. However, in the next two years we did not find the wonders we had been promised and were quite disappointed. My parents would not give up and go back but set about creating the lifestyle we were searching for and now, 50 years later there is only my sister and myself left to enjoy it. We both married and had chidren and grandchildren and have no regrets about coming to Australia.