Rita & Dietmar Heydler

Story

The History of the Heydler Family in Australia

Let me introduce myself: I am Rita Heydler and together with my husband Dietmar and 13 month old son Andreas, embarked on the journey to Australia leaving Germany on the 1st of May 1964.

My husband and I survived the 2nd World war as children. In fact Dietmar is a survivor of the firebombing of Dresden in which his family lost everything. After the war his family moved to Nevers, France. They returned 7 years later to Landau in West-Germany. I grew up in a city called Karlsruhe near the Black Forest in southern Germany. It was here that I met Dietmar and where we eventually married. Andreas was also born in Karlsruhe.

Because of the unsettling situation of the cold war we decided to apply for migration to Australia in a bid to offer our son and any further children a more settled future. We were accepted by the Australian Government under the same migration scheme that was available to British citizens.

On the 1st of May 1964 we departed on the T/N Flavia traveling from Bremerhaven to Vlissingen, Southampton, Curacao, Cristobal, passing through the Panama Canal to Tahiti and after 5 weeks at sea we arrived on the 7th of June 1964 in Australia.

Like all non British migrants, we were scheduled to go to Bonegilla. However before arrival, we along with 9 other non British migrants were given the opportunity to disembark at Sydney. My husband accepted this offer and we spent the first 2 months of our stay in Australia at the East Hills Migrant Hostel in Hammondville NSW. After that we moved into private accommodation in Panania. Eventually we purchased a block of land at Minto in Sydney’s South West and 3 years later we moved into our own home that had been built on this land. We lived in this house for 37 years performing various additions and modifications as our family grew.

I always remember with pride the hard working nature of my husband Dietmar. We arrived in Sydney on Sunday the 7th of June 1964. The next day Dietmar was taken to the Employment Office resulting in a job interview scheduled for the Tuesday. On Wednesday the 10th of June he started working for James N. Kirby in Milperra. He worked there for 15 years after which he moved to Container Packaging in Milperra. Eventually he found work very close to home at the Unilever Streets Ice cream factory in Minto. He remained with Streets until his retirement at age 65. Shortly before Dietmars retirement we moved closer to the sea establishing a new home in the Illawarra region during 2004.

In the course of time we had to 2 more children, our daughter Gabriele and our son Peter. Andreas gained a Bachelors Degree at the University of Wollongong and works as a software developer. Gabriele works as an Administration Assistant for a mortgage broker and Peter works in computer networking.

Our daughter’s 3 children, a boy and two girls have proven themselves to be useful members of society. Jacob became a bricklayer like his dad. The eldest girl Brooke is working in the Beauty and Fashion Industry. The youngest, Samantha currently still attends high school.

Peter lives near Geelong in Victoria. He is married and has 2 children. His daughter Tiana-Rose was born in Stuttgart, Germany while Peter was on a work assignment there. After the family returned to Australia they had a little boy called Thomas.

Andreas and his wife Moira love the great outdoors. They have traveled extensively throughout Australia mainly doing so off the beaten track by four wheel drive. In 2001 we were able to travel along with them as they journeyed to the Kimberley region in Western Australia.

We are all lovers of the wide open spaces, the red earth, the blue sky and the peace and solitude that can be experienced in the desert regions of the country. The night sky as seen from the outback away from the city lights is also memorable.

I have asked Andreas how he feels about the fact that we brought him to a far away country. He has no regrets about growing up and living in Australia. He appreciates the temperate climate and way of life here, recognizing that Australia really is a lucky country.

As for Dietmar and myself, we have never regretted the decision we made to come to Australia nearly 45 years ago. We are grateful to have been given the opportunity to work hard and live in this beautiful country. Life has been good to us.

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