Sandra Hand

Story

I was 5 and my brother was 2 and a bit, my parents wanted to start a new life, my father secured a job in England with Anthony Squires as a tailor. They were young and the war had finished and they wanted to come to this land of opportunity. My parents were Beryl Maude Hand (nee Simms) and Leslie Charles Hand, and we left St. Albans in Hertfordshire.

My Mother had 2 brothers and My Father had 2 brothers and a Sister.

We travelled on the P & O liner the ‘Moultan’ I don’t remember much, I remember the equator crossing, which seemd very frightening, all that shaving then throwing in the swimming pool, I was terrified. The doctor was giving us the last of our injections on board and I put on a terrible turn and he gave me a slap on the backside which shut me up and I was a perfect angel after that.

My mother told me we landed with a sixpence in November and Mum was pregnant, she should not have been on the boat but had fibbed about how pregnant she was. She had my 2nd brother on December 26th.

We arrived in Sydney at Pyrmont. I can only imagine what it was like. Mum very pregnant and Dad with no money, hot weather and knowing no one and two small children.

They were fortunate and collected by someone from Anthony Squires and we were taken to St. Marys which was a long drive in those days, we had a flat to move into, it seemed quite a long way from the shops and almost in the bush. Dad went to collect kindling for the copper, and came racing back looking white as a sheet, he had been confronted by a goanna.

I don’t know how my mother coped, with 3 small children a large wicker pram and a long way from the shops. We all seemed to be happy in Australia, we loved the bush and when we got a car we would go for days out down dirt roads and find all sorts of hidden places to swim and play.

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