Australian Connections

If you read my post on Fremantle & Perth you may remember I wrote about an exhibition we saw in the museum in Perth.   It got me thinking about my connection to Australia. Not only the fact that my son and his family live there, but that my father was born there. It has set me off on some interesting research.

I'm not interested in family trees but did get a bit involved in some ancestry sites just to find out about my grandparents.  I was wondering why and how they got to Australia and why they settled in Bulimba, a suburb of Brisbane.  It turned out to be fascinating.

It turns out that my grandfather joined the King's Rifles Corp in 1907 possibly as a groom.  He served in Malta and was invalided out in 1909.  I haven't been able to find out why.  In the meantime my grandmother is described as a chocolate packer - presumably at Cadbury's.  I don't know how they met as I know my grandmother was Catholic and the military papers describe my grandfather as Wesleyan.

I knew that they had been given free passage to Australia but didn't know how.  The £10 Poms were after World War 2.  It turns out that after the First World War, there was an Act of Parliament which gave free passage to ex-Servicemen.

I found the passenger lists with my grandparents and my aunt's names.  They sailed on the SS Sophocles to Brisbane in 1923.  It took over 7 weeks.  The papers I was sent from the Queensland State Archives said that my grandmother's brother already lived in Bulimba and had agreed to nominate my grandfather and help him find a job.  So that's why they went to Bulimba.

My father was born in 1924 and his brother a couple of years later.

 

 

I also found out that my great-uncle died in 1926 which might have been an extra reason why the family came back to England in 1931.  I always knoew that my grandmother hadn't liked the heat and was homesick.

They came back on the SS Hobson Bay, landing in Hull.  This photo shows the ship in dock in Adelaide.  I think the little boy hanging over the rail in the middle is my Dad, although it could be his brother!

Currently I am putting together a sketchbook - although it might be better called a scrapbook at this point in time.

I bought some mylar and some SVG stencil files of Australian plants, which my friend Joane kindly cut for me.

I am rather hoping that at some point all this will lead to a textile piece.  However I haven't really found my way into that yet.  I'm going to finish putting all the information I've found together in the book.  Then start on a page about my son.

After that, I shall wait and see.  Hopefully inspiration will strike.  And if it doesn't I'll have a family scrapbook.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

In the city

This week's Theme Poetry from Sara-Jane Arbury was based on cities. She gave us a brief history of the rise of cities.

 
Recently we have been watching Jay Blades: The Midlands Through Time which has been really interesting.  It's on Channel 5 catch up if you're interested.  I was almost tempted to use that as inspiration for the city poem but decided instead to write about commuting.

We always start this session with an unrelated piece of writing.  This was based on a poem called Vulnerable by Elma Mitchell, which starts 'Everything is ..'

In the Close 

Everything is quiet by 10pm.
The Close is almost silent.
Just one or two late arrivals home.
The teenager brought home
by his girlfriend’s mother.
No more deliveries, no Amazon Prime
or supermarkets trucks.
No phone calls. It’s impolite
to phone after ten o’clock
isn’t it?
Downstairs lights off, upstairs lights
turned off. The only lights
the moon and the street lamps
shining in the darkness.

Suburban Lives 

Short, suburban trains, stopping
at suburban stations,
wend their way to the city centre,
racing between the stops.
Hurrying people to their destination.
No eye contact made.
All looking at their phones
or studiously ignoring fellow travellers.

Rushing through the station, commuters
strangely eager to reach their desks
displaying a keenness to get the day over
when in the late afternoon, they can return
to their slower suburban lives. 

 

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Eclectica Exhibition

Last week, a few of us from Eclectica, the textile group I belong to, went to Forge Mill Needle Museum in Redditch to see our exhibition.

There's still time to visit.  It ends on Sunday November 26th.  The museum is open everyday from 10-3.

I took as many photos as I could.  There was some gorgeous work in the glass cabinets but the reflections were too much from the lights to be able to successfully photograph the work.

 

And lastly my canal-inspired pieces.

I really like the brick wall behind these pieces.  It sets them off really well.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice