In my Flight Across the World article, I summarised my Mum’s first letter to the Runcorn Weekly News about our journey from the north of England to our new home in Perth, Western Australia. I have decided to publish the rest of her articles in full, ensuring you get a first-hand perspective of the life of a 1960s family of “Ten Pound Poms”.
This is her second letter, published on 10 November 1966.
Cost of living is £2 a head
The second of a series of letters from Australia deals with a subject which creates a problem for housewives the world over … shops and the prices they charge.
Twenty-two-year-old Christine Lucas went to Australia over two months ago with her husband Keith and their two children, Kevin and Karen.
Mrs Lucas, formerly Christine Edwards, was born in Ann Street, and lived the greater part of her life in Runcorn at their Halton Road home, up until the time of her marriage.
Her letter reads:
“It was dark when we arrived in Perth. By the time we had all loaded into my brother’s car and left the airport many of the roadside lights had been turned off and we saw very little, other than dark shapes. We were taken straight to our flat in the coastal resort of Cottesloe.
Our Cottesloe Home
“We had, in fact, been going to go to Point Walter, a West Australian migrant hostel. However my brother Geoffrey Edwards and his wife, (formerly Audrey Bellis of Weston Point) had taken one look at the hostel and offered to accommodate us at their place. However they found us a flat and spent much time and effort in making it look homely for us. When we arrived the electric fire was on, beds made, complete with hot water bottles. It looked nice and cosy and felt lovely and warm after the cold wintry night air outside. We were grateful for this, for we felt the cold after the heat of India, Burma and Singapore, places we had been only hours previously.
Fremantle
“It was three-thirty when we finally got to bed; but we were eager to see our new country. That afternoon we went into Fremantle. I must admit that we were bitterly disappointed and wondered just what we had let ourselves in for. Everywhere looked so very unsightly… storage depots, flour mills – the usual warehouses of port towns. Going to Fremantle from Cottesloe you have to cross the Swan River and there is a good view of the dock areas. At first such things as the cranes and other unsightly machinery glared out at us.
“Now we don’t notice these things as we take an interest in the ships and whenever there is one open to the public we have a look around it. Our flats are on the Ocean front and the shipping channel runs directly outside, about two miles out, so we have a good view of incoming and outgoing vessels. Often we go in the car down to the coast to watch the ships come into dock. There is free movement allowed on the docks and the authorities have even put electric lights on the jetties for the benefit of fishermen!
“Fremantle has a friendly atmosphere and some good shops including one devoted exclusively to material. All the shops have covered fronts – this makes it cooler to shop by providing shade. Supermarkets have room inside the doors to park babies prams off the streets, and shelves to leave bags which may already contain shopping. When we arrived, tomatoes were on 9d a pound but these, matches and honey were the only things which stood out as being cheaper than in England. Margarine is twice the price here, so are chickens. A sliced loaf, only 1 ½ lbs in weight, costs 2/-, milk is 1/- a pint and there is no such thing as cheap milk for children. Our greatest surprise was to find that Australian butter and tinned fruits are considerably dearer here than in the U.K.
Developing New Tastes
“Most things taste different from the tastes we are used to so this fact, plus the currency change (we use dollars and cents) makes shopping doubly difficult at first. The girls in all the shops are very helpful and service is prompt.
“A cheap and popular vegetable here is pumpkin. They do not sell watercress or mustard cress here. An English report put the cost of food in England at 30/- per person per week; here I estimate it as being £2 each person, which is exactly the same in sterling – but it seems more here!
“We have noticed that cigarettes are cheaper, from 3/1 – 4/- for 20. Wines are very cheap, spirits are a little cheaper, but beer is more expensive. Australians think that their beer is the best in the world but opinions differ greatly. This is one thing you don’t comment on in public.
What a Shock
“Our greatest shock was to see everywhere littered with broken bottles and Coke cans. Several times we have heard breaking glass and turned to see a bottle splatter all over the pavement – disposed of from a passing car. And it’s not the teenagers who are to blame – you have to be over 21 to drink here. They do keep broken glass from their marvellous beaches though.”
Letter 3
In her third letter, Mum looked at employment down under with the heading of the article being, “Self Confidence the Main Asset”. Watch out for that one soon!