Nanny and Tom Wardle
| Town/City | Anglesea |
|---|---|
| First name | Nanny and Tom |
| Last name | Wardle |
| Country of Origin | UK |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1960 |
| Submitted by | Shanti Wong |
Story
Tom and Nanny Wardle
Having lived through the German occupation in the Netherlands and living in war-torn Liverpool with my British husband Tom, we decided to find a better lifestyle in South Africa. Although we had quite a carefree time in Capetown and Durban we returned to England after our daughter Shanti was born Ð mainly because the colour bar was right against our principles. However, after eight years of everlasting bad weather and now with two small children after our son Mark was born, we thought we\’d try and find that better lifestyle again. In May 1960 we sailed for Australia on the ‘Orion\’ on the £10 a person immigration offer.
As Tom was a minister in the Congregational Church we had a job and house in Parkdale, Melbourne, to come to Ð although I will never forget the feeling of desolation in those first few weeks of ‘What have we done, leaving our parents behind?\’
Needless to say, after several weeks we began to feel quite at home. The children settled at school (although they were teased about their Pommy accents). Our first luxury was buying a fridge and we felt rich. Our life here has on the whole been happy and relaxed. The education for the children was first class and Tom and I got interesting and fulfilling jobs in the education field. We enjoyed our retirement together with our Australian-born grandchildren and even after Tom\’s death, I never regretted our decision to come to Australia.
Nanny Wardle
June 2009