The Journey
written by: Linda Joyce Cooper
We arrived
Disembarked the big ship
Onto a train
Across the mighty continent
To another city
At the hostel
We were given four rooms close to each other
We made one room into kitchen, dining
We didn’t like the food at the cafeteria
Mum and Dad bought a frypan
They cooked food in that
My mum went to hospital
My baby sister was born
In this new country
I looked after the other two little ones
And one went to a childcare centre close by
She cried when I left
I cried too
I was 12 years old
The bathrooms and toilets were in another block
We shared them with many others
We all lived in Nissan huts
We were raw and new in this country we had come to
Gone was our cosy home
With the lovely big bedrooms and cosy kitchen
Friends, neighbours and relatives
Mum came home with the new little one
Dad got a job
But not for long
Now we incurred debt
We were poor
Another job came along
A small deposit was put on a house
A long way from the city
In the bush.
With the possums, snakes, bull ants, poisonous spiders……
I longed for my beautiful England
With its manicured lawns and beautiful trees
Flowers and beautiful parks
Close to shops and schools
It took a long time for me to love this country
It’s grown up since we came along and has now become home
And I am happy here
- The Journey - January 7, 2026
- In the Silence of Mystical Time - August 14, 2025
- Fairfield - April 30, 2025
