The theme for Week 27 of #52Ancestors is Independence, and for those on time with these posts it coincides with the 4th of July in the United States.
Whether focusing on independence as a nation - Australia Day for those of us Down Under - or the independence of our ancestors, especially those who left their loved ones behind in search of adventure or a better life - we all have plenty of examples of independence. We all find our own independence in our own way, but the journeys of many of my ancestors leaves me in awe of their spirit and drive, their determination to build independent lives.
My mother is one such example. Born in 1942 in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton, she spent her first few working years in the city - at G. J. Coles Bourke Street store, at Allan's music shop in Collins Street and at Evan Evans in Elizabeth Street. A city girl through and through, she then headed for the bush to work as a nursery governess around Mildura and Balranald. Independence indeed, to leave behind the life she knew.
She learned to deal with snakes and dust storms, vast distances and poor roads, the pace of country life and the isolation. Although she never held a drivers licence, she learned to drive farm vehicles around the paddocks. When my sister and I were born, our parents were living on a sheep station on the Darling River, north of Mildura - a 1 hour drive from the nearest town.
An even bigger step into the unknown showed the independence of several of my ancestors who emigrated to Australia from England, Ireland and Germany. Many of them knew nothing of Australia, but took the huge step of leaving behind all they know in the hope of a better life. How strange this new country must have been to them, but they settled down, built new lives and made themselves a home in this new landscape.
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