The next morning my brother and I were sent to school by bus, to Bacchus Marsh High School. We were escorted to the principal’s office, then sent to our respective classes. I was in form Three which had just started the First term a few weeks earlier.
When I left England, I had been doing Form Three since September last year. I thought that would be good for me because I had a head start. Not so, my subjects were much the same but carried out quite differently. We moved to different classrooms for different subjects with different teachers.
I was very quiet, shy even, I didn’t or couldn’t talk to other students that easily. Kids from Northcote were treated differently anyway, and being a Pommy didn’t help. One kid said to me that he knew I was a Pommy because my legs at the back of my Knees were all red. According to him, that was because Pommies always stood in front of the open fire and their legs got burnt. He was probably right, but I’ve never heard of that theory ever again.
I was only at school for the rest of the year. Once I turned 15, I left school and Northcote.
I was just so happy to move down to Melbourne and get away from Northcote.
Northcote had been quite an adventure. Not always a happy adventure, but I did learn a lot about the ways of Australia, the people, the climate, the countryside, the bush.
After being in Australia for thirty years, I finally got the opportunity to go back to England. I was there with my wife for nearly three months. We mainly stayed at an Aunt and Uncle's house only three miles from where I grew up.
I met up with a lot of family I had not seen since I left England. I also spent time at the small farm I worked at as a young boy, I met up with old school mates, visited houses I had lived in, my dad’s work mates. It is still a small village and not a lot had changed.
I was asked several times if I would ever return home to live. My answer was a simple yes. I told them that I would be returning home, to Australia, which is my home now, and has been for the last thirty years. If I ever returned to England, again it would only be for a holiday, as a visitor.
Moving to Australia was a brave move by my parents, with eight kids all under sixteen years old, and moving to a strange place, strange country, and a very different climate. It was quite the adventure.
I know I am much better off here than I would ever have been in England.
A great move. A great adventure.
Phil Hughes
September 2023