Marjorie & John Forsyth

Story

My parents Marjorie and John Forsyth departed their homeland and all of their relatives to create a better life for their three children (Paul, Christine & David and later Mark born in Australia). Convinced they would never be able to afford a home of their own in England, they applied to migrate to Australia. Both John and Marjorie had been enlisted Army personnel in England with John serving in the Royal Welsh Fusilliers for a total of 14 years and saw service overseas in Germany (where Christine was born on an British Army of the Rhine Army Barracks) and in Malaya both for substantial periods of time. Over the years while our family settled into life on first a Migrant Hostel in Preston and later in Housing Commission flats in Carlton, they were to receive many blue aerograms telling them of family members who had passed away, including both sets of parents. Both were from large families, John had nine siblings while Marjorie had five. There was no money for trips home for funerals and as the letters arrived by sea mail and took six weeks, there was no time to get home anyway. All those aunts, uncles and cousins that we, the children, would never know. The family eventually settled into their ‘own home’ in Heathmont a lovely leafy suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne. Life was good.

Our family travelled together on a P & O Liner the S.S. Stratheden from Southhampton through the Suez Canal to Australia. First port of call in our new land was Fremantle followed by Adelaide. We then went on to Melbourne where we left the ship which had taken six weeks for the journey. As children it was the best holiday with all manner of activities to fill our days and the choice of three swimming pools to swim in. Meals were taken in two shifts with families eating together on the early shift. It was a very happy time for us as children and the only ‘holiday’ our family ever had together.

I can still remember arriving at Station Pier in Melbourne and once we had disembarked, realised we had been travelling on a very large ship as I looked back at our floating home of six weeks from the pier. We were taken to the Exhibition Buildings where there was accommodation for us for around four days while more permanent accommodation was to be at the Preston Migrant Hostel. Families we had travelled with also were housed with us in Preston. School was also in Preston for my older brother Paul and I at Gowerville Primary. The Hostel experience was not always a good one, however it was home for us and another new brother (Mark) born at Preston and Community Hospital. I remember my mother cooking for us in our ‘hut’ as the food offered in the dining hall was not up to scratch. It took a good amount of Dad’s wages just to provide a small stove to cook on. After two years we moved on to the flats in Carlton in Station Street (still standing today) and we all attended school locally at Rathdowne Street Primary School (now Carlton Gardens Primary). Lots of happy memories of our school time and teachers. Playing in the Gardens (Exhibition Buildings Garden) located accross the road from school was an every day lunch break activity and in summer was fabulous as the garden’s water sprinklers would be on and we could cool off. We would be dry by the time we had crossed the road to return to classes after our lunch break.

Our parents were so proud when after another two years they were able due to savings (and an inheritance) to purchase their ‘own home’ in the leafy Eastern suburbs. Us children all moved on to different schools yet again and made lots of new friends some who have become life long friends. The children having grown up and married all remained in the leafy Eastern Suburbs.

Our parents sacrificed such a lot for us to have that ‘better life’ they wanted for us however it meant that they both worked so hard at so many jobs that neither lived long enough to see the fruits of their labour, or to enjoy their grandchildren. John passed away aged 49 and Marjorie at 61. Marjorie did return to England for a year when John had passed away but was very happy to return to Australia after catching up with her sisters and their families. More blue aerograms were to arrive this time in the form of phone calls to be informed of yet more deaths in the family. I do believe that our parents succeeded in providing ‘a better life’ for us in Australia and we have achieved home ownership much sooner than our parents could. Our heritage is now something that we will create here in Australia with our own children and hopefully great granchildren in the near future.

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