3) Department of Immigration

When we had been in Australia for five days, on December 11th, Jonathan took us to the Department of Immigration at Parramatta, to apply for our Aged Parent visas. When we went to the reception desk we were given a ticket with a number on it and told to sit and wait until our number was called. We found that this system of a numbered ticket for queues a novelty. It works very well; everyone is dealt with in order, no pushing in and trying to jump your turn. I don’t recall ever having seen it practiced in Africa but here it was in the banks and the licensing office. It worked well in the delicatessen counter of the supermarket, the bakery shop, and the fish and chip shop on a busy Saturday night. Yet another difference between Africa and Australia!

The waiting room was occupied by people from all over the world, different races, different nations and different creeds. I felt sorry for those who did not speak English. It is hard enough to settle in a new country without having a language problem to contend with as well. The immigration department seemed to be very understanding though and had staff members that spoke all sorts of languages so the applicants could at least be dealt with by someone that they could understand and who understood them.

When our number was called we were interviewed by a very friendly and helpful young lady who told us that we would need to have medical examinations and submit our police clearance certificates that we were still expecting from South Africa, as soon as they arrived. She explained that once our Temporary Business Visa expired in April of 2003 our Bridging Visa would come into force and we would be allowed to stay in the country while we waited for our Aged Parent Visa to be processed. She did say that as there were a large number of applicants for visas it might take quite a while. She said that at that time the department was busy processing applications that had been made four years previously so we must be patient. She was so friendly and helpful we were very encouraged. I don’t really know what I expected, not the third degree and thumbscrews surely, but I was very impressed with the kindness shown to us. We left the office feeling on top of the world. We were both healthy so the medicals would not be a problem and four years would soon go.

Within a few days we received a letter giving us an appointment for our medicals on Monday 30th Dec. We needed to bring two passport photos with us and the fee would be $247 each. That was a bit of a shock but as it included blood tests, x-rays and an examination by a doctor we thought it could be justified. So once again we made the journey to Parramatta, it all went well and we were ever so happy.

2) Happy Families

So here we were with our family again. Claudia and Lauren had grown so much since we had last seen them, just as kids are prone to do. They were so full of energy and I got tired just looking at them. We were able to go to the end of year functions at their schools and enjoyed that a lot. After all this was one of the main reasons for us to come and live in Australia, to be near our family and to be involved in their lives.

Claudia was going into her third year of school and seemed very bright to me. (Maybe I am just a tiny bit prejudiced) Her reading was excellent, she could read anything without any help at all, her spelling was not so hot. I thought that maybe she is just taking after me in that but she has now overcome that problem and spells as well as any other child her of age. We went to her end of term concert that was held in the hall of another school in Berowra, as the Cowan school is too small to have a hall of their own. I think every child in the school was included in the concert and they amused us all and made their parents very proud of them. It was obvious that the influence of America had crept into the Australian education system as the children “graduated” at the end of the year and were presented with certificates. No one failed, just some passed better than others. But the pupils all seemed bright, happy and well adjusted so I suppose it is working well.

Lauren was due to go to ‘Big’ school in the New Year and she was certainly ready for it as far as I could tell. She knew her letters and could count; she was (and still is) a sociable and friendly little girl. She had been at Pre School for a year and we went to see the concert that was put on by her little school in Brooklyn. It was good to see the class of four and five year olds singing their little songs and rhymes. These little ones also “graduated”. We were treated to a delicious morning tea and the parents chatted with the teachers and each other. It was here that I met for the first time a phenomena that I suppose is pretty wide spread but I had not met it before – The Home Husband. It was good to see so many Dads were able to attend this function and support their children. I assumed that they were men who worked shift work or on leave but Sian told me that some of them were men who stayed home to look after the children while their wives went out to earn the wage. This was almost unheard of in South Africa. It is obviously the most sensible arrangement when a woman can earn more than her husband but many of these couples seem do it for many of other reasons too. I think it is great that fathers now have the chance to have a closer and more meaningful relationship with their children. I have since, come across men who looked after the children because they can work form home, other men who just could not get suitable work and others who just choose to be the principle carer of the offspring and it is accepted as right and normal here in Australia. I am no longer surprised to see a young man in a supermarket with a little baby strapped to his chest and another in the trolley while he does the family shop but it did make me turn my head when I first came to live in here. Just one of the many little ways I was to find that Australia differed from South Africa.

I now think that in many ways it was South Africa that was different as I realise that some of the strange things I found in our new country are normal throughout the Western World. I had just lived in Africa so long that I did not know what was going on in the rest of the world.

1) A Warm Welcome

When my husband Jonny and I touched down at Sydney airport on December 6th 2002 we were given a very warm welcome. Bush fires were burning all around the villages we were heading for, Berowra and Cowan.

After a pretty uneventful flight from South Africa we, for some unknown reason, arrived in Sydney two hours late. Our late arrival turned out to be a good thing in the end. Our sons Jonathan and Dominic had arranged to meet up and go together to collect us at the airport. It was arranged that Jonathan’s wife Sian would stay home with the girls as our arrival was timed for long after their bedtime. At the time that the boys had originally intended to meet the roads were all closed as there were huge bush fires raging all around and neither Jonathan or Dominic could get onto the highway to drive to the airport. The firemen must have worked very hard because when two hours later Dominic tried once again to get to the highway there was a big improvement in the situation and he was allowed through. But the road into Cowan was still blocked though so Jonathan could not get out and Dominic had to come to the airport alone. He managed to get there before we arrived and was there to greet us. On our drive to Cowan we were all a bit concerned that the road might still be closed and that we would not be able to get to Jonathan’s house. But the firemen had done a good job and the fires near the road were under control so we were able to get through.

Bush fires are a big problem in Australia. The bush is highly inflammable and a small spark can cause untold damage. Many of the indigenous plants of Australia need to burn to assist with the germination of their seeds. The resin in gum trees gets so hot that it explodes and scatters hot embers around for many kilometres, starting new fires all over the place. The fire service is manned mostly by volunteers and they do a wonderful job. They are heroes to the public, who call them “The fireries” They are well trained and well equipped. In large fires they use special helicopters and aircraft to pour water on the fire as well as the fire fighting equipment that they use on the ground. One of their large helicopters is called “Elvis” and it is interesting to see Elvis hover over the river and scoop huge quantities of water into the bucket that is suspended below it. It then flies over the fire and tips the water onto the flames. It seems as if they are trying to fight the fire with a thimble of water but it is very effective I know that many homes and lives have been saved by them. It is a very expensive procedure and is only used in extreme circumstances

Many homes in the area were under threat from the flames during that time and the people rallied together to help each other. They helped clear fire breaks around the houses, cleaned the combustible material off roofs and emptied the gutters. Coming into the situation as a stranger I was very impressed with the way people were pulling together and displaying what the Australians call “Mateship”
When we arrived in Cowan most of the fires had been put out and the fireies were just mopping up and making sure that the fires did not flare up again. The people in the area were so pleased with the work they had done that everywhere there were banners and flags hanging, saying “Thank you Fireies” or “We love the Fireies” Street parties were held so that the people could show their gratitude to the men and women of the fire service. We attended one in Cowan, with a live band playing from the back of a truck and just about all the villagers coming out to join in the fun. It was a lovely warm evening and as the children ran around and played the adults chatted about their experiences during the fires. There was still the faint smell of burnt bush in the air and everyone was so very grateful that they were still there to attend the party. Bush fires are something that the Aussies have learnt to live with and they seem to take them in their stride, we were very impressed with their attitude.