13/01/2024
36 years ago today my family and I landed on this sun burnt land, emigrating from England. I was 11, my sister 6, my Dad 30 and Mum 29 - they’d never been to Australia.
They decided on the move because my parents could see Australia would hold better opportunities for their family, plus my uncle lived here and raved about it!
Just after we arrived, England sank into a terrible recession, while we were starting a thriving new life.
Being 11, I didn’t really understand what was happening and just wanted to be back with my friends and family in the cold, and it took me much longer to acclimatize. Especially because of all the creepy crawlies that could kill us!
But I was the first one of the four of us to get my Australian passport, and travel back to England at the age of 18.
It was on this trip after I gorged on all the toffees and crisps and chocolate and vimto I could handle, that I couldn’t get in Aus, that I realized the amazing sacrifice my parents had made for me, and just how great Australia was.
England is a great country but Australia is a thousand times better, this is home for me.
Do I still get called a Pom? Yep I do, but I don’t care cause I’m so bloody proud to call this country my home.
Happy Aussie Day to us! 🇦🇺 🦘🕷️ 🦈 🐍 🐨 🏝️🇦🇺
