A New Country

Being an immigrant to a new Country wasn’t something I had ever thought of as a Canadian. Having heard jokes and off-handed comments from people about ‘new Canadians‘, I wondered how I would go as a “new” Australian?

Immigrating to Australia from Canada was a new and exciting opportunity for me. Having finished with my days as a Mountie after 21 years, I would become a “fair dinkum Aussie” adapting to my new life within a short time. This was going to be assisted by living in rural New South Wales and helping on a sheep property, but then it turned out that I eventually undertook careers in the Australian Protective Service and in private enterprise, with Sydney Airport.  These opportunities allowed me to get to know and understand the Australian way of life.

It was also a big change for our three children, who had in recent years been exposed to the large metropolitan city of Mississauga in the suburbs of Toronto, Canada. So what was this big, wide country that we had moved to? Keep reading to check out our travels, where we lived, and the experiences we enjoyed.

Moving to another country is a major event in one’s life and adjustments are needed.  One of the first things is to understand your new country and for those that don’t know much about Australia here are some basic facts on Australia (courtesy of the Australian Government website).

A bit about Australia

Australia is a unique and diverse country in every way – in culture, population, climate, geography, and history.  We chose to live here because my then-wife was from Australia and the opportunity to move our family had uniquely presented itself.  We were ready for a change and why not in Australia – the land down under.

Australian culture is as broad and varied as the country’s landscape – & similar in some ways to Canada. Australia is multicultural and multiracial and this is reflected in the country’s food, lifestyle, and cultural practices and experience. Australia has an important heritage from its indigenous people, which plays a defining role in the cultural landscape.

Australia’s population is roughly 24 million people.

The most populous states are New South Wales and Victoria, with their respective capitals, Sydney and Melbourne, the largest cities in Australia.  Australia’s population is concentrated along the coastal region of Australia from Adelaide to Cairns, with a small concentration around Perth, Western Australia. The center of Australia is sparsely populated like the far north in Canada.

The majority of Australia experiences temperate weather for most of the year.  The northern states of Australia are typically warm all the time, with the southern states experiencing cool winters but rarely sub-zero temperatures.  Snow falls on the higher mountains during the winter months, enabling skiing in southern New South Wales and Victorian ski resorts.  The State of Tasmania reminded me of my time in Newfoundland, Canada.

Our Immigration or Emigration Adventure

After living 41 years in Canada the prospect of a change was adventurous – or that was the thinking. The family seemed excited about the move to a place their mother was from. The children were at an age we thought it best to make the move as they would be young enough to adjust. Seems we were partly right. My parents had passed away and it seemed appropriate for my wife to be back home and closer to her family – there we no family ties for me any longer.

I faintly remember the process to obtain my immigration visa but recall it was smooth as I was a sponsored spouse of a returning Australian.  I was good to go and allowed to work on my visa. The move and the travel adventure to get to Australia was a lifetime experience.  The following memoirs are taken from a travel diary kept during the trip and postcards obtained on the journey.

Carrying on from our road trip across Canada with a rented motor home, we flew from Vancouver, Canada, via Hawaii (for a short fuel stop) to Cairns, Queensland on July 14, 1990, arriving early on a tropical morning.

Cairns was to be our initial staging point for touring around Northern Queensland to enjoy a holiday before driving south – (on the new side of the road) – to our destination at Hill End, NSW.  Cairns is Queensland’s most northerly city nestled between the Atherton Tableland with lush rain forest, waterfalls, and crystal clear lakes on one side and coral sea with world’s largest coral Great Barrier Reef on the other side.

I recall vividly the reaction from our children in Cairns as we explored the downtown area and markets seeking breakfast; the people weren’t wearing shoes and it was very casual, with a hippy-type vibe of the 1960s.  A far cry from the more formal surroundings of Toronto.  The cultural change was just beginning. We spent a week in Coles caravan (RV) park in Cairns and took the opportunity to explore the sights and surrounds of north Queensland.

We took the train to Karunda, a boat to the Great Barrier Reef for snorkeling, we ate sausage rolls and meat pies and adjusted to the heat. During our time we enjoyed many other attractions of the Cairns area including a harbor cruise around the mangroves looking for crocodiles and other wildlife one evening.

We toured sugar cane fields on the Bally Hooley steam express, drove around the Atherton tablelands that are home to many huge curtain fig trees and flying foxes, headed up to Port Douglas to check out their famous 4-mile beach, did some more snorkeling on the barrier reef at Low Isles, visited the Daintree River and Mossman gorge.

Our sanctuary from the tropical heat was a swim in the caravan park pool.  It was a busy 6 days and a fun time exploring this holiday location but we then headed by plane to Brisbane on the 30th of July to pick up our rental car for the road journey south.

We collected our Avis Ford and pointed it towards Tenterfield, NSW via Toowoomba, Queensland which was an easy one-day drive. We stayed in an old pub in Tenterfield with a lovely historic atmosphere.  I had a few adventures trying to establish my driving on this other side (left side) of the road but getting much better each hour.  The rural countryside was dotted with sheep but it was cold and wet. – Remember it’s wintertime in Australia in July and August.

The next day we headed to a place called Armidale, NSW where some relatives were, and then to “Airlie” Bendemeer Station where my ex-wife had spent time when she was growing up. The wattles were out in bloom with rabbits and kangaroos roaming everywhere. We stayed overnight in Gunnedah, NSW before arriving in Mudgee, NSW close to our destination.  It had been raining the whole way and we ended up flood bound in Mudgee.

Our very long journey to our new home had ended and once the roads were clear from the flood waters we would be heading to the property in Hill End (or the end of the world depending on how you look at it!)

Hill End, NSW

My then father-in-law had a sheep property in this historic district near this quaint village in the heart of the central west 275km NW of Sydney 1,000m above sea level. Sitting above the Turon River Valley, surrounded by scenic bush country. The area first made its claim to fame through the 19th-century gold rush, where in 1872 wealth from the gold fields saw the village boom into what was then a thriving city. Following the bust of the boom, and on the heels of the great depression, the 1950′s saw Hill End thrive again.

This time around as a popular destination for some of Australia’s greatest artists. The art culture remains prominent and within a well-preserved gold-mining ghost town, the site is a major tourist attraction. Hill End is an important historical and cultural landmark, drawing thousands of visitors annually. The village of Hill End is on the register of the National Estate and important historical buildings are managed by the Department of Environment and Climate Change as a ‘Historic Site’ of national significance.

We came to settle here to help out on his sheep property.  It’s a tale of family and relations.  For about 3 months we did our best to support and help out.  Our two younger children went to the local one-room schoolhouse that still was operating with grades one to 6 as I remember, in rows in one room.  Our oldest boy was in high school so need to go to Mudgee by bus every day – a trip of 76 kilometers each way up and down a narrow country road.

This was a very different and challenging experience for all.  My wife was a nurse and sought some employment in Mudgee as well which was easy for her but the commute was a killer.  Shopping required a trip to Mudgee or Orange for goods.  We rented a small bungalow in Hill End to live in – it was different and didn’t really work.

The property was fairly large with sheep everywhere.  This vocation was all new to me and I wasn’t adept at Australian farming practices.  I did the best I could to help out on the day-to-day around the place.  Fencing repairs, odd jobs, and helping feed the sheep as it was in drought conditions.  We got our Australian driver’s licenses in Hill End – the test involved picking up the local Policeman and driving him to our place for coffee and back to the station – we passed and he got to check out the new locals at the same time.

Access to Hill End is either via Mudgee or Bathurst. There are three main approaches; from Bathurst via Sofala (78 km), from Bathurst via Turondale (69 km), and from Mudgee via Hargraves (74km). All roads, except the Sofala route, are fully sealed now but this wasn’t the case when we lived there – they were dirt roads.

 

I mentioned family and relations earlier.  Things didn’t really work out with us trying to help out and the lifestyle was just too far removed from what everyone had been used to so for the sake of peace and sanity we packed up and headed to Canberra, the nation’s capital where employment opportunity awaited.

Canberra, ACT

While this site is more about my wanderings, it wouldn’t be complete without a mention of my children who were with me during much of the time.  I wanted to showcase some of our journeys together so you will see a bit of the family lived in the following memoirs.  I am very proud of my children and they have been so wonderful to me.

The Australian Protective Service had offered me a role in Canberra – so we were off.  We packed up our truck with our possessions and headed south. This was a much bigger city and more in line with what the family had experienced in Canada.  Good schools, recreation, and stable work for us all.  My wife was able to get work nursing in no time. We rented a house initially and awaited our container of furniture to arrive – we established ourselves in Rivett.

With the kids in school, life was more routine and activities began.  The kids adapted to their new life, school, and friends easily and things were looking up.  We felt more at home here.

During our time here we managed to live in 4 different residences around the Weston Creek area of Canberra.  We moved out of our initial rental place and purchased our own home in Chapman. It had a pool and lovely back entertainment area that saw lots of enjoyment and the kids had fun with their friends.  Sports played a big part in the lives in Canada so it did in Australia as well. Kristine was enjoying her swimming and won ribbons and trophies with pride along with netball and some soccer. Shawn was playing ice hockey at the Phillip Ice skating rink and played in many competitions along with cricket and soccer.

Summertime allowed for camping down at Bateman’s Bay, checking out the Australian War Memorial, Thredbo Ski area,  Great Ocean Road, Echuca, Ned Kelly territory, and other journeys to check out Aussie attractions.  There were also times to visit with their Australian grandmother in Sydney.

During our time here Jason had an opportunity to return to Canada to pursue his ice hockey dreams.  After he left and the twins were teenagers we moved to a villa house in Fisher that was less work due to our busy lives.  Later I moved with the two kids to a townhouse in Duffy that better suited our situation.

Jason, North America & Hockey

My oldest son Jason also played some cricket and rugby at Marist Catholic College.  Having played Canadian sports of baseball, ice hockey, soccer, and lacrosse it was a challenge to adapt to the skills of Australian sports.  He continued his ice hockey with the Australian Team and played with older men.  A traveling team from the Canada Junior B league in British Columbia visited Canberra for some recreational hockey during their summer break.  After playing against these players the coach offered Jason a place on their Junior B team, room and board in British Columbia, and a chance to finish high school there.  It was something that Jason wanted to do and his heart was really still in Canada while trying to make it work in Australia.

It was decided that he could go and give it a try – it would be an opportunity lost if he didn’t at least give it a go. This did cause considerable family anxiety and he was deeply missed but I felt he needed to give his dreams a chance – that view was not necessarily shared.  In the end, he did enjoy his Junior B hockey playing throughout northern British Columbia, was noticed by college scouts from Cornell University, and was offered a scholarship.  He went to Cornell for 4 years, played 4 seasons with Cornell in the ECAC, and received a degree and a signed with Detroit Red Wings.

He played in their various minor leagues for a few seasons in Manitoba, Canada, and Houston, Texas. His biggest thrill was getting an opportunity to suit up with the Red Winds and participate in their on-ice Stanley Cup celebrations of 2001/02.  He was one of only a handful of players from the Northwest Territories and was Detroit’s eighth-round draft pick in 1994. Eventually, he moved to Germany to play for a number of years.

I was fortunate to visit him a few times when he was with the Adirondacks in the American Hockey League and in Germany when he played there.   Finally retiring he moved back to Texas where he resides today with his own family.  It was a great part of his life.

The growing up years in Australia were good times and it is nice to look back on these with fond memories.  The shelves are full of pictures and reminders of those younger years when kids enjoyed their fun times.  I moved to Duffy with my two children to accommodate our new circumstances. As the kids grew and decided to leave home to branch out on their own my work provided an opportunity for me to move to Sydney.

Sydney, NSW & Life has Changed

Check out how life changed for me and living in Sydney, NSW – with a wonderful partner.