Terrence Milner Bennett

Story

My father, Terrence Milner Bennett, together with my mum, Caroline Margaret Bennett left England with my sister and I in 1971 in search of a better life, with more opportunities. My father was full of adventure and wanted to leave England to start a new life in another country. My parents rented a council house in Woodingdean, a relatively new suburb of Brighton on the south coast. Both my parents, but my father in particular, wanted to emigrate to a country where if you worked hard you were rewarded. He felt that Britain did not offer enough opportunities and that he and my mum were working hard, but not getting ahead. The weather also played a part in their decision to leave, especially as I had problems with my ears, nose and throat, which the warmer climate would fix .

Despite the anxiety and trauma associated with leaving our family and our previous life my father convinced my mother that Australia and not Canada was the place to go. After saying our tearful goodbyes and spending our last night in England at my Nan’s “Battle of Waterloo” Hotel in Brighton we set sail from Southampton the next day. The year was 1971. Dad would have been 29 and mum 25. I was six years of age, but can still faintly remember our departure.

Dad was the keenest of my two parents to emigrate and after boarding the greek ship, “The Britannis” his spirits remained high. He and my mother had a wonderful time on the six week trip to Australia visiting the Canary Islands (Las Pamas), Capetown, Fremantle, Melbourne and finally Sydney, where we disembarked. Whilst staying on the ship my parents really enjoyed themselves, attending dinner dances and parties and generally having a good time. They also made friends with some other British migrants, who they remained in contact with for quite a few years after they arrived in Australia.

Dad told me once that he was overjoyed when he first saw Sydney. He loved the sandy beaches and the bright blue skies and the endless warm summer days. Both he and mum were impressed with how large and cosmopolitan Sydney was, and they especially liked the laid-back approach of the locals. My dad was a warm friendly, gregarious person, who always worked hard; however he didn’t like the formality of British society and was abhored by the British class system. Australia for him was a paradise, where if you worked hard you could improve yourself, no matter what your occupation.

After renting a house in Chatswood for 12 months and then renting a smaller flat my parents and my sister and I drove north in dad’s old holden stationwagon. We were heading to Queensland where it was cheaper to purchase land and build a house. In addition to this dad had some old English friends who were living in Brisbane, and we stayed with them for 6 weeks while our house was being built. Dad loved Brisbane and always felt at home there. Mum, although reticent about leaving England initially, also grew to love Australia.

Despite visiting England in 1977, and returning periodically until his untimely death from cancer in 1996 dad always felt that Australia was his home. After my dear mother passed away in 1993 he returned to Britain on a number of occasions, but was always keen to get back home to Australia. Throughout his life he always had a deep love and fascination for Australian flora and fauna, and particularly liked watching native birds and gardening. He enjoyed painting Australian scenes, and in sport swiched his allegiance to his adopted country.

One of his last comments to me when he was ill was ” I don’t want to return to England, I want to go to Australian heaven”.

< Back to the Stories