Rosa Thimios nee Manier
| Town/City | Cairns |
|---|---|
| First name | Rosa |
| Last name | Thimios nee Manier |
| Country of Origin | Croatia former Yugoslavia |
| Date of Birth | 1934 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1951 |
| Submitted by | Rosa Thimios |
Story
Reason for leaving homeland – Having been evacuated from homeland and seeking a better life.
My Journey to Australia began in 1944 from Mrzovic a village in Croatia former Yugoslavia.
There was talk in the village that people of German descent would have to evacuate to Germany. End of October 1944 German Officers came to our home and said to my Mother to pack a few belongings and leave. If we did not go of our free will it will be forcefully. So my Mother and my three Brothers’ packed our bags and began our journey that ended in Australia.
What I can remember we travelled by bus and train arriving in Seitendorf Germany. We were taken to a Fluchtlings Lager, a camp for refugees. The camp was a big dance hall in a hotel with double decker beds stacked close together. We stayed there over Christmas from there we were taken to another village Barsdorf where we were given a room. What was Germany then is part of Poland now.
When the Russian front was getting close we were put on a train not knowing where we were going. I remember being in a freight wagon and we travelled through Czechoslovakia and stopped at a railway station where a young girl gave us some bread that she was carrying in a basket. We arrived in Oberrackitsch Austria where there were people from our village Mrzovic already there. From there we had to flee again and were in Polfing-Brunn Austria when the war ended.
After the war most of the people from Mrzovic that were with us settled in Mureck, Oberrackitsch and Unterrackitsch now called Eichfeld. In 1949 people started to emigrate to America, Brazil and Australia. So it was in 1951 that my Mother and eldest Brother decided to apply for emigration to Australia. We were accepted and arrived in Melbourne on 26 June 1951 on the ship Skaubryn.
From Melbourne we were taken to Bonegilla Migrant centre. My two older Brothers were sent to Innisfail, North Queensland to cut sugar cane. We were told if both boys went north the family would follow. Soon after my Mother and younger Brother were sent to Cairns 90 km from Innisfail were there was a Migrant Centre.
Because I would not go to Melbourne to nurse I was left behind in Bonegilla. The reason I did not want to go was we were all supposed to go to North Queensland. When my Mother arrived in Cairns she applied for me to be brought to Cairns. After arriving in Cairns I worked at the Lake Eacham Hotel in Yungabarra for over a year.1953 I came back to Cairns and the family was together again.
Worked again in a hotel then applied for a job in a cafe – got the job and that is how I met my husband. I married the boss, Angelo – he used to say I got the job and took over. We had 53 happy years together.
He was a migrant too. Sadly he passed away in 2007 aged 84.