12.
Leaving India
If we take care of today
God wilt take care of tomorrow.
Mahatma Ghandi
With our departure from India, five and a half
years of life in the tropics on the Indian subcontinent
ended. New, exciting horizons beyond began to unfold.
S.S. Chyebassa was a cargo boat with facilities for its
crew and 20 additional passengers, among whom three
families were destined for New Zealand. The others were
to disembark at various ports in Australia.
On the upper deck of our ship were the captain's quarters
and two first-class cabins with a modem bathroom shared
by the two families occupying this superior
accommodation. Both spacious cabins had large windows
with attractive curtains, comfortable beds, a tallboy, a
dressing table with a large mirror and a spacious
wardrobe. Indeed, it was like a bedroom in a house. It
was our good fortune to have been allocated the larger of
the two first-class rooms, while the cabin opposite was
allocated to Mr. Charles McCann and his wife Eleanor, who
with their three children, Carl, Trevor and Marie, were
also emigrating to New Zealand. Mr. McCann was the
director of the Bombay Museum in India, a competent
scientist of many years' experience. He had been
appointed Curator of the Wellington Museum in New
Zealand. The other family bound for New Zealand was Mrs.
Gardner with her two small children, Christine and
Michael, who were supervised by an English nanny. They
were looking forward to their reunion with Mr. Gardner,
who was already working in Auckland.
S.S. Chyebassa was carrying a cargo of tea. It was only
partly loaded when we left Bombay. The end of August
meant rough seas as the monsoon was only beginning its
slow retreat from the northern hemisphere of the tropics.
A few days prior to our departure a ship had gone down in
the raging gales off the coast of Bombay. We expected a
rough passage, but hoped for a safe transit through these
turbulent waters. As the Chyebassa sailed into the depths
of the Arabian Sea, the wind increased and waves soon
reached gigantic proportions. The raging wind threw our
vessel about mercilessly. We found it impossible to keep
our balance and sea-sickness overwhelmed us. I was unable
to retain even water. Finally, totally exhausted, I was
sedated by the ship's doctor and slept intermittently. We
had now reached Cochin, the seaport in Kerala State In
South-West India. Here our ship stopped for three days to
load more tea. With a respite from sea sickness, we
enjoyed making friends with other passengers and the
crew. We dined together, sat in deck chairs observing the
port activities and the tea loading in progress. There
was ample time for deck quoits and deck tennis games,
also for refreshing cold drinks and nutritious meals.
We became more closely acquainted with the McCann family,
Mrs. Gardner and an elderly Anglo-Indian woman who was to
join her daughter-in-law and granddaughter in Perth. Her
son was an officer on the Chyebassa. He looked forward to
his leave in Perth. Another middle-aged Australian lady
was returning to Adelaide after a visit to India. She was
very kind and invited us to spend a day ashore with her
in Adelaide.
Time passed quickly In this relaxed and friendly
atmosphere on board our ship in Cochin. When the tea
loading was completed we sailed again, this time towards
Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka, which is located to the
South-East of India. It took about two days to reach the
port of Colombo where our boat stopped for three days to
take on another cargo of tea. It was early evening when
we docked. The next day Uncle Lovat, who now lived in
Colombo, came aboard and took us by car to view this most
attractive tropical island's capital. As we drove to his
hotel we admired the tall palms lining wide streets and
modern multi-storeyed buildings. We enjoyed a wonderful
lunch with locally grown fresh pineapples, mangoes,
oranges and bananas. That afternoon Mother attended to
business formalities with uncle Lovat in connection with
our passage to Australia and New Zealand. Alek and I were
given some pocket money to buy souvenirs and we
thoroughly enjoyed exploring the shops where we purchased
a few brass ornaments and three small, black elephants
with ivory tusks. We returned to the hotel, proud of our
souvenirs, having enjoyed ourselves immensely. That
evening, with Uncle Lovat, we visited an English family
in Colombo, who kindly invited us for a delicious dinner.
We were very impressed by the splendour of that spacious
house, the beautifully landscaped garden and the large
swimming pool. We listened to both classical and modem
music, feeling as if we were in Paradise. The clear night
sky, illuminated by numerous stars, was a wonderful sight
after the dark skies of the monsoon season in India. We
farewelled Uncle Lovat that night. It was, indeed, the
last time we were to meet, though we corresponded for
many years thereafter, until his death in Perth in
Western Australia on 28th January 1978. During the two
remaining days in port we again amused ourselves playing
deck quoits and tennis. Finally, after the loading of tea
was completed, we sailed on for Australia.
As we passed through equatorial seas, the water was
mirror-like with only occasional slight ripples. It was
sunny and hot. For those crossing the equator for the
first time there was a surprise on board. King Neptune
dipped us in the ship's swimming pool during the
initiation ceremony. Much laughter accompanied our
enjoyment as we splashed around with painted faces and
later received an ice cream and cold drinks. We sailed
for six days from Colombo to Fremantle in Western
Australia, our first port of call on that continent. We
did not venture ashore there, content to watch young
Australians near our ship and the watersiders unloading
the tea cargo. We arrived at Fremantle at 6.00 p.m., and
sailed in the afternoon two days later. The next port of
call was Adelaide in South Australia, which we reached
five and a half days later. The sea was quite calm as we
sailed near the Australian coast and we were relieved to
be without the discomfort of sea sickness. The Chyebassa
remained docked in Adelaide for five days as, in addition
to the off-loading of tea, minor repairs to the ship were
undertaken. Our Australian friend from the Chyebassa
Invited us for a day ashore where she took us shopping.
We also spent some time in the magnificent botanical
gardens, where we admired Australian flora and fauna for
the first time. We were impressed by the bright plumage
of numerous native parrots, parakeets, cockatoos and
kookaburras flying about and nesting in the trees. These
tame birds demanded a share of our food as we enjoyed an
afternoon tea treat of cakes and scones with jam and
cream, provided by our Australian friend.
Four days later we were on our way to Melbourne in
Victoria, a voyage of three days. On our arrival there, a
telegram awaited us from Uncle Lovat's cousin in Sydney,
Mrs. Blunt. We were informed of the passage reserved for
us from Sydney to New Zealand on the ship Wahine on the
3rd October. In order to catch this ship we had to take
the night train to Sydney, so we disembarked from the
Chyebassa which had off-loaded more of Its tea cargo.
Miss Pearsall's friend, who resided in Melbourne,
assisted Mother with the purchase of the train tickets.
This kind lady also entertained us in her home and she
drove us to the downtown Melbourne shopping area where we
were completely overwhelmed by the sight of so many
large, well-stocked stores. Their window displays
fascinated us, although we had little money to spend.
We left Melbourne on the 30th September, boarding the
train for Sydney just before darkness enveloped the land.
The landscape viewed from the speeding train was a
monotonous arid, undulating plain with sparse vegetation.
We were tired and dozed off intermittently, until we
reached the New South Wales border, where everyone had to
change trains after a thorough search of baggage and
personal hand luggage by the State Police.
The second train was less comfortable, with wooden seats
in the overcrowded second-class carriages. The many drunk
sailors aboard were very noisy and several vomited In the
corridor. Their language and behaviour was very
objectionable. We were unaccustomed to the Australian
accent and their jargon was strange to our ears. The
whole atmosphere was rather unpleasant. We huddled
together for warmth and for security throughout that
restless night's journey. Next morning at 8.00 a.m. we
arrived at our destination. In Sydney Mr. and Mrs. Blunt
met our train. They extended their cordial hospitality to
us in their magnificently designed house, built on split
levels. It was attractively located among flowering
shrubs and Australian native trees in Mosman. We
gratefully accepted their hospitality for three days. The
day after our arrival we accompanied Mrs. Blunt on a
visit to her cousin, who was married to an Anglican
clergyman. They had five young children and occupied the
parsonage near their church in Kingsford Smith. We spent
an enjoyable afternoon with Uncle Lovat's cousins.
While in Sydney we were delighted with our visit to the
Tooronga Park Zoo, where we were introduced to kangaroos,
koala bears, emus and the Australian lizard. We were
impressed by the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the pleasure
cruise by ferry to Manly. On 3rd October as scheduled, we
sailed for New Zealand on the Wahine, which then
regularly transported passengers and cargo between
Australia and New Zealand. The sea was very stormy and
the gale force winds meant a rough passage. Consequently
we again spent much time being seasick in the confines of
our tiny cabin. On this voyage we were again accompanied
by the McCann family, who had shared our voyage on the
Chyebassa. We talked optimistically of the new life
awaiting us in New Zealand. Gray skies and drizzling rain
shrouded Wellington as the Wahine approached the capital
city early on the morning of the 7th October 1947. It
took two hours to complete all the formalities with the
New Zealand customs officials before we were permitted to
disembark.
Mrs. Krystyna Skwarko, our friend from SokOlka in Poland,
met us with a bunch of red tulips. We were delighted to
see her after eight years and appreciated her welcome and
the warmth of her personality. Together, we traveled by
train to the Polish Children's Camp at Pahiatua, where
the Skwarko family lived. As we traversed the Rimutaka
ranges and later the plains of the Wairarapa, we admired
the luscious green pasture grazed by healthy sheep and
cattle. We were impressed by the landscape of our new
country. Mrs. Skwarko spoke about the friendliness of New
Zealanders and their great generosity towards the Polish
orphans, who had arrived here In 1944. All her assurances
put us at ease. We had crossed the vast expanse of oceans
from India to the land of our dreams, and we now had a
chance to begin a new life with our friends at the Polish
Camp in Pahiatua.
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