Ratko and Family Koncarevic
| Town/City | Twin Waters, Sunshine Coast |
|---|---|
| First name | Ratko and Family |
| Last name | Koncarevic |
| Country of Origin | Yugoslavia |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1969 |
| Submitted by | Ratko Koncarevic |
Story
In my early teenage years, the old timers from my village used to talk about a ‘land down under’ called Australia. The stories fired my imagination and interest in this far away land and I began to dream about going there but it seemed like an impossible dream. A decade later, however. I finally did arrive in Australia on 19 September 1969.
The journey took 17 days. It began with a flight from Belgrade to Djibouti (a French territory in Africa) where I boarded a ship named R.H.M.S. Patris. Mid-afternoon on the 15th day aboard the ship I heard passengers yelling ‘Australia! Australia!’. I ran as fast as I could to the top deck and asked with great excitement, ‘Where is it?’. Others pointed to the horizon, and I saw my land of dreams. I was looking at the port at Fremantle. After a short stay there, the ship continued its journey and after another 4 days we arrived in Melbourne in the late afternoon and stayed for the evening. I received an invitation from an uncle of a friend to spend the first night ashore with them. That evening I tasted Australian beer for the first time (Fosters bitter) and couldn\’t believe how awful it was!
The following morning the ship continued its journey for a further 3 days until we arrived in Sydney. I joined a number of friends then and together we journey to Wollongong which was my final destination. I rested for four days and then began to working as a tradesman\’s assistant for the largest Australian iron and steel company, A.I.S., where I was employed for 6 years and 3 months, and trained to be a fitter welder.
On 10 August 1970, my dear wife Olgica (Olga) aged 21 (born 26 September 1948), and my beautiful daughter Suzana (Suzy) aged 18 months (born on 16 February 1969) joined me in Australia and our family life in a new country began. The first two years of our lives in Australia were very hard. Our English was poor, we were poor and renting was hard, but with hard work and doing two jobs we managed to save enough money to buy our first home. It was the happiest day of my life!
Four years later we had a new addition to our family, a beautiful baby girl named Sandra (Sandy) was born on 17 April 1974. Our family was complete. In January 1976 I got a new job in Central Queensland, in a town named Moranbah, working for the Utah Development Corporation at their coal mine named Goonyella. It took us 3 days to drive to Queensland and when we arrived we were immediately given the keys to a brand new house. The following day I began work on a preventative maintenance programme at Goonyella. This was the beginning of a long and happy stay in Moranbah where we lived for 23 years. It was a very rewarding and happy time for us all.
After a productive working career I retired at the good age of 55 years and my wife Olga and I moved to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, where we still live. We now like to travel and visit our daughters and grandchildren who we love to dote over. In conclusion, coming to Australia was the best move I have ever made for me and my
family. Life is good!
Written in Twin Waters, Sunshine Coast, Queensland on 1 July 2009 by Ratko (Rade) Koncarevic, born on 24 February 1944 in Kula Atlagic, Benkovac S.R. Hrvatska, S.F.R.J. Jugoslavja (Yugoslavia).