Early Adulthood
Durban 1959
This newspaper clipping from
October 24, 1959 is a treasured article taken from the Natal Mercury
newspaper. It was a special event to attend a performance given by Sonya
Cordeau, a singer and actress, who went on to star in the 1960's performances
of "Phantom of the Opera" and "Lessons in Love".
School Life
My
mother was proud that her two daughters were educated in a girls private school
(St. Marys), but not being very well educated herself, she failed to notice
that there was no emphasis on math and science for girls - no chemistry or
physics, and the math standard was poor. My father was rather typical of
his time, and once I matriculated (graduated from highschool),
he would not entertain the idea of my interest in University. I
would have loved to study Archeology, but instead did various secretarial
training courses and secretarial positions.
Texas
In the early 1960's, work presented my father with an opportunity to live in Texas and as an engineer at the Southwest Methodist Hospital, San Antonio. We all moved with him for the adventure where I made a couple of life long friendships. I worked for Montgomery Ward and was trained to use what was then considered "state of the art" technology - the NCR Class 3200 billing machine. Working in a sound proof room, with a “counter” on my machine to measure throughput, was quite a contrast to the working life that I had enjoyed in Johannesburg as a Reservations Clerk for the Union Castle Shipping Line.
I made friends with my colleagues and remember enjoying many weekend trips. On one such occasion, we traveled to the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras to shop for beautifully tooled leather handbags. Only after few days, did we discover the leather had not been properly cured, so the smell followed us around! I also vividly remember a road trip to Dallas to see a University Football match. This was a special Dallas University event and both my sister and I were presented with white “mum” corsages in support of the home team. New Orleans was also a highlight, with its vibrant city life. As a hobby genealogist, it was fascinating to view the graves sites placed above ground owing to the high water level.
After two years in Texas, I longed to return to Johannesburg and returned on my own. My parents and sister stayed only a short while longer, and also made their way home.
I made friends with my colleagues and remember enjoying many weekend trips. On one such occasion, we traveled to the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras to shop for beautifully tooled leather handbags. Only after few days, did we discover the leather had not been properly cured, so the smell followed us around! I also vividly remember a road trip to Dallas to see a University Football match. This was a special Dallas University event and both my sister and I were presented with white “mum” corsages in support of the home team. New Orleans was also a highlight, with its vibrant city life. As a hobby genealogist, it was fascinating to view the graves sites placed above ground owing to the high water level.
After two years in Texas, I longed to return to Johannesburg and returned on my own. My parents and sister stayed only a short while longer, and also made their way home.
Rhodesia
Following our return to South Africa, I had a short lived marriage
to my first husband who was a Chartered Accountant. He worked
for Sugar Marketing Pty Limited in Salisbury and I was very happy to join him
there after our marriage shortly after the UDI declaration 1965. It was a
turbulent time with petrol rationing, which made travelling difficult. However,
it thrilled me to be back in the City and country of my birth. Our little home
in Avondale was often the welcome recipient of fresh produce grown at the
Chirundu sugar estate, I have never tasted a tomato to equal those sent us! We
had a small motor boat on Lake McIlwaine outside Salisbury and spent many of
our weekends at a boat Club there.
I worked for Britten & Ellis, Chartered Accountants, 4th floor of Farmer’s Mutual Building on Baker Avenue. This practice was the registered office for many of the commercial farms and businesses in Salisbury.
Sadly, soon we were watching the first funeral parades for fallen soldiers at the start of the Bush War. My spouse was offered a new position in Germiston back in South Africa and we sadly left Rhodesia in 1968 for South Africa with our small settling in allowance. I have never been back to Salisbury, Rhodesia but have been proud over the years to call myself a “Rhodesian”.
I worked for Britten & Ellis, Chartered Accountants, 4th floor of Farmer’s Mutual Building on Baker Avenue. This practice was the registered office for many of the commercial farms and businesses in Salisbury.
Sadly, soon we were watching the first funeral parades for fallen soldiers at the start of the Bush War. My spouse was offered a new position in Germiston back in South Africa and we sadly left Rhodesia in 1968 for South Africa with our small settling in allowance. I have never been back to Salisbury, Rhodesia but have been proud over the years to call myself a “Rhodesian”.
Starting a Family
I was back in Johannesburg, when my first marriage ended. A few
years later, a man who had been my first boyfriend and I met again in
Johannesburg. After a short period of being acquainted, Tony and
I were married in 1970. The arrival of our daughter,
Laura, followed a year later.
The political situation started to be a worry for us in South Africa, and with a very young daughter, we decided to explore idea of immigrating. We got out the world map, and as neither of us wanted to learn a new language, we decided we would like to emigrate to one of Britain's old dominions. We put much time and analysis into this decision, and Canada held a great deal of appeal.
The political situation started to be a worry for us in South Africa, and with a very young daughter, we decided to explore idea of immigrating. We got out the world map, and as neither of us wanted to learn a new language, we decided we would like to emigrate to one of Britain's old dominions. We put much time and analysis into this decision, and Canada held a great deal of appeal.
Exploring Immigration to Canada
Fearing intense cold, we ruled out Eastern Canada, but we knew that the
western part of the country was known for a milder climate. We
subscribed to newspapers from both Victoria and Vancouver, and read
everything that we could lay our hands on about our area of
interest. After a year of research, Tony suggested that he
should do a "recce" trip to the west coast of Canada.
We had in the meanwhile filed an application for immigration at the Canadian Embassy in Beirut. The South African government had at that time prohibited the Canadian government from operating an immigration office at their embassies in South Africa, so our application had to be processed in Beirut. Subsequent to filing our application, Lebanon suffered a civil war, and the Canadian Embassy closed. During that process, all immigration files were to be transferred to the Rome office, but our paperwork was lost. This resulted in a complete do-over, but the staff at the Rome office agreed to interview Tony, and he made his way there during his "look-see" trip.
During his trip, I heard little from him, so was anxiously awaiting his arrival to hear his news. He arrived back at Jan Smuts airport in Johannesburg one crisp Highveld winter's morning, and we eagerly asked him for his impressions. The first thing that I immediately noticed was that he had a very tanned face and accused him of having spent his time on the beach! To which he replied that he had got the tan by pounding the pavements, going from business to business, handing out his resume and making business contacts. I was well a truly put in my place! He confidently told me, "I think you will like Victoria".
We had in the meanwhile filed an application for immigration at the Canadian Embassy in Beirut. The South African government had at that time prohibited the Canadian government from operating an immigration office at their embassies in South Africa, so our application had to be processed in Beirut. Subsequent to filing our application, Lebanon suffered a civil war, and the Canadian Embassy closed. During that process, all immigration files were to be transferred to the Rome office, but our paperwork was lost. This resulted in a complete do-over, but the staff at the Rome office agreed to interview Tony, and he made his way there during his "look-see" trip.
During his trip, I heard little from him, so was anxiously awaiting his arrival to hear his news. He arrived back at Jan Smuts airport in Johannesburg one crisp Highveld winter's morning, and we eagerly asked him for his impressions. The first thing that I immediately noticed was that he had a very tanned face and accused him of having spent his time on the beach! To which he replied that he had got the tan by pounding the pavements, going from business to business, handing out his resume and making business contacts. I was well a truly put in my place! He confidently told me, "I think you will like Victoria".
Our Immigration Adventure
In 1973, our immigration papers were finally issued and we decided to use some of our “blocked” South African funds to have a glorious 6 week trip travelling to Vancouver by sea via the Panama Canal. We invited Tony's mother to join us in our immigration plans. We travelled from Johannesburg to Cape Town on the Blue Train, and then departed on the “Edinburgh Castle” on October 31, 1973 for Southampton. We all stood on deck watching the pilot turn our ship in Cape Town harbour. Saying goodbye to the country that had been my family’s home for six generations brought tears to my eyes. Then, we watched the pilot boat come alongside to pick up the pilot and Captain Catterall took us out into the Cape rollers. From Southampton, we boarded the SS Oriana to travel to Vancouver (or, so we planned). Our travels took place during the 1973 oil embargo, and we were informed that even though we paid for passage to Vancouver, our trip would be ending in San Francisco! We quickly made rail plans on the Amtrak Starlight to travel the remainder of our journey from San Francisco to Vancouver, and arrived in Canada on a cold early winter day in December 1973.