South Yorkshire Times, March 16
Has a Two Years’ Return Ticket
15 years ago a young merchant seaman left the ship in Sydney, and stepped ashore into a new life. Now he is only again at Ash Grove, Conisbrough.
Mr William Breeden, formerly of Doncaster road, Denaby, said he had been working in the -2 years when he decided to “do something different.” He joined the fishing fleet at Grimsby and then transferred to the merchant Navy.
“I’d had it in my mind for some time to leave Denaby,” Mr Breeden told the “South Yorkshire times” this week.
His jobsin Australia have included working in goldmines, on a wheat farm in Queensland, in the Port Kembia steelworks and then on various cattle and sheep stations.
“In Northern Territory I workedamongthe black fellas,” said Mr Breeden. “The main thing is that you must work with them. You cannot sit down and tell them what to do.” 75% of them work on the cattle stations, and in return about£8 a week is paid into their banking accounts.
Of the Australians themselves Mr Breeden said, “they like to think about their relations in the “old country” as they call it, and they all talk a lot about going back.
For Mr Breeden stepmother is return has been an extra special occasion, as they have never met before. She was plenty of time to get name now, as he told us, “I have a two years return ticket, so I’ve got plenty of time to make up my mind whether or not to go back.”