Veronica Mather (nee Foster)

Story

I was born in London in 1938, just before the war. Like many children of that era I was an only child.

When my Father who was in the RAF was posted to Holme on Spaulding Moor in Yorkshire, Mother decided we would follow. She left London, our wordly possessions packed in two suitcases, one balanced on the bar of my pushchair and Mother carrying the other. During the war we moved many times returning to London in 1946.

During my junior school years I attended 11 schools, some for only a few weeks, sometimes not attending at all. The classes were huge, no-one seemed to notice my absence. I completed my secondary education at Askes Haberdashers a City of London School.

I had no intention of leaving England until I met my future husband Stan Mather in 1957. With 100,000 other people he was at The Farnborough Air Show, and was on a three year post engineering course working for English Electric in Stafford. We married exactly a year later.

Stan is a 5th generation Tasmanian, his ancestors, Ann Benson Mather and Robert Mather arrived in Hobart on the ship “Hope” in 1822. There have been Mather’s in Hobart ever since. Stan’s Mother Evelyn Julia Mather (Powell) was 9 when she migrated from India with her family in 1913.

We sailed for Australia on the “Stratheden” two months after our wedding – I as a five pound assisted migrant. We felt priveleged as we were given a two berth cabin with a porthole, other migrant families were separated. For me it was a great adventure, I was not as apprehensive as other migrants as Stan had a job to return to. Although we did not have much money our optimism was high for the future. My parents were wonderful and never put any obstacles in my way to discourage their only child from going to Australia, even though it could be many years before we saw each other again.

When I found work, which was difficult in Hobart in 1958 my in-laws were horrified. The Government would not employ married women and many other employers assumed you would become pregnant. My first job was a receptionist at “Hadleys Hotel. ” Family planning was not encouraged and the only family planning clinic was in Sydney. Young married women stayed at home, went to luncheons and afternoon teas and played tennis, but we needed money to buy a block of land and build our own home.

From the “Streets paved with Gold” films that were shown to prospective migrants in Australia House, I came to earth with a bang, to be told ‘we all build our own houses’. Never having used a pick or shovel before – why would you need one in London, I knuckled down for the next two years digging the foundations for our home which was on a 1 in 3 slope with a magnificent view over the city. I learned to mix cement, build formwork and mix conrete, in general be the builder’s labourer. Our flat was at sea level and our land 700ft above, we could not afford a car and every week end carrying our tools and lunches we trudged uphill to our land. Thank goodness after a day’s work it was downhill home.

In 1962 two events occurred, our son Julian Benson was born and we moved into our half finished house. In 1964 a second child – our daughter Carey Ann. In 1967 the Tasmanian Bushfires ravaged our suburb. We made the decision to stay with our house, our windows shattered with flying embers singeing the curtains and blistering and blackening the paintwork. Everything outside was lost, burned to a cinder, but we saved the house.

Like everyone we have had our highs and lows. My husband’s father went bankcrupt and we helped out financially which was a great strain. My parents retired to Tasmania to be near their family. We enjoyed many happy years with them until sadly my Mother developed dementia. We cared for her for some years. We enjoyed wonderful caravan holidays, staying at local beaches, panning for gold on our West Coast and fishing on our East. We’ve also camped to Uluru and many outback places with the family.

After our children were born I worked either at The Lady Gowrie Child Centre or The Hutchins School. Our children are now adults with families of their own. Tasmania was a wonderful and safe place for them to grow up in. They swam, took ballet and music lessons, played Rugby and Hockey, they sailed and learned to fly and were able to participate in so many activities that would be impossible in London.

Veronica Mather (nee Foster)

< Back to the Stories