Laurie and Olive Teague
| Town/City | caloundra Qld. |
|---|---|
| First name | Laurie and Olive |
| Last name | Teague |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | 14.9.35 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1967 |
| Submitted by | llawrence Teague |
Story
At a family gathering during Easter 1967 we were all bemoaning the miserable weather. The kids were all stuck inside and my wife’s young brother said “Why don’t we all emigrate to Australia. That started the ball rolling for us all . Within one week we went to Australia House in London to see the film and info on Qld. We decided on Qld as our youngest son had a kidney problem and Qld had a good health service. We applied for the papers and were approved and within 9 weeks from the start.
We arrived here in Brisbane with our three kids, Teresa aged 10, Peter 8 and Alan 7. It was 5.30 a.m. and the heaviest rain we had ever seen was falling as we stepped off the plane. We only had a couple of suitcases of luggage as we were able to send one trunk by sea, and after being told we would not need blankets in Qld we only brought light clothing and bedding. Boy what a shock we got, the wind was bitter cold and there was 11 inches of rain fallen in Brisbane that day. We were taken to Wacol Hostel and placed in a hut which smelt of mildew and when I opened a drawer a huge cockroach ran out. We had never seen one before so it was quite a shock. As it was 11th June (the Queens official birthday) everywhere was closed so we laid on our fousty smelling beds and all slept till the following morning.
After the rain stopped and the floods went down we looked up a friend from our own district in England, he was a friend of my wife and had emigrated a year earlier with his wife and baby girl.
I was unable to find work at first so a group from the hostel went to Gladstone but after a week we came home as there was nothing there for us. Then I got a job bus driving which I had done in England.
We stayed two years then returned to U.K. but soon realised how stupid we were and two years later we returned. By then my brothers, sister and parents, and also my wife’s whole family had emigrated and we are all still here and loving the place. We now live in beautiful Caloundra in a retirement village and could not think of a better place to live.