Mervyn Willoughby-Thomas
| First name | Mervyn |
|---|---|
| Last name | Willoughby-Thomas |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | 12th August 1928 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1959 |
| Submitted by | Dilys Ketley |
Story
In 1959, my 31 year old brother, Mervyn, who was married to Pamela, had four children under ten years of age and lived in the downstairs flat of a large house, with only two bedrooms. He had recently completed his training as an architect and felt that the prospects for a man with a young family would be better in Australia than England. He applied for a job in Australia and was accepted to work in the Department of Works in Canberra. The family left London Docks and sailed via Italy (where they were robbed) and the Suez Canal, which was still open to shipping at that time.
On arrival in Canberra they were housed at the Acton Hotel for a while and later they moved to a house in Dickson, which was surrounded by paddocks full of sheep. The family increased in size a few months after their arrival as Pamela had been pregnant all through the sea trip Ð which was most uncomfortable for her. The sheep gradually disappeared from the paddocks and many roads, houses, shops and schools took their place.
The children grew up healthy and fit and when they had beeen in Australia for ten years I came to visit them on a six-month visitor\’s visa. While here I met my husband-to-be, but I had to return to England to be interviewed as I wished to emigrate and marry my Aussie! I visited Australia House the day after I arrived back in England and it took the Immigration Department five and a half weeks to send me back to Australia. I was the only passenger from England with a plane full of French emigrants.
Mervyn worked hard to provide for his growing family, and he also worked hard in his spare time for The Boy Scouts, St Vincent de Paul, and Rostrum, judging speaking competitions at schools. He worked on the designs and supervised the building of many large buildings and various houses in Canberra, including the original Lakeside Hotel. Sadly Mervyn died in 2002, Pamela having predeceased him in 1995.
The children are all now married and have children of their own and live in various parts of Australia Ð Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast. I have a daughter who is living in Canberra with her husband. I am very glad that I came to visit my brother in 1969 as life in the fresh air of Canberra is so much more pleasant than the dull, dreary climate of north-west London.