THE JOURNEY TO AUSTRALIA -

 

My grandfather served in the Cypriot army from ages 18 to 21. In the years he served in the Cypriot army he fought for his country against the Turkish forces with everything he had. In the last year, he served in the army and when the tensions between Turkey and Cyprus were at an all-time high, my grandfather and his family decided to leave Cyprus to live out better lives. Although he loved his country my grandfather was an ambitious man. He knew that Cyprus was not going to be the place he would be able to achieve his goals of being a successful man, that could provide for his family and live the comfortable lifestyle he craved after so many years of having to work tooth and nail for the bare minimum that he got in Cyprus.

My grandfather and his family on the boat to Australia

So, they originally planned to go to Canada, but they missed the boat, which in retrospect is lucky for me! The second option was to move to Australia; the country of opportunity for European immigrants at the time. The time it took to get to Australia was 45 days. In these 45 days, my grandfather got to experience the culture of the various countries that the ship stopped in such as Spain and South Africa. Once the ship had finally made it to Sydney my grandfather started working as soon as he could. He was a mechanic by trade and worked every day to build himself up. This led him to be able to own a petrol station which made him incredibly successful.  A trip to Adelaide is how my grandfather met my grandmother, Helen. After a week of knowing each other, my grandfather boldly proposed to the woman he would love for the rest of his life. They have now been married for 45 years. During these years, my grandparents made their greatest wealth which is priceless to them; his 4 daughters who have given them their cherished 12 grandchildren.

My family now.