Alice Ida Horgan nee Davis and her sister Jenny O’Sullivan sailed separately to Australia in 1957 with their young families.

Growing up in Cork Eire they saw the new country as a land of opportunity. Melbourne had just hosted the Olympics and television had been launched. Their husbands had jobs in insurance and manufacturing. Their children, of whom I was one, could enjoy the chance of higher education.

Like many before and after, I was able to obtain the university education denied by my father who had insufficient means. I graduated in science at the tail end of the mining boom of the 70′s. For the next 20 years I taught in high schools across Victoria before branching out into IT and financial services. Sport featured prominently in our lives. My brother was a good suburban footballer and I still play cricket with an over 60s team. While valuing my Irish roots, I fully embraced Australia as a citizen in our bicentenary year.

Attached images are the family at the Zoo in Colombo and arriving at Fremantle on the Orion.