Gra Nomad Wanderings

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER

Brother Bill headed across to Canada in May 1968. He went by ship with 3 other young Aussie adventurers - Peter Humphrey, Peter Cubis and Tony Dufficy.  At the time there was a shortage of teachers in Canada and they were recruiting young Aussie teachers. Nurses were also part of the "brain drain" and so were well represented on the ship.
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All 4 of them picked up jobs in British Columbia. What an exciting time. I know, because one year later, my wife and I joined them in B.C.
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Many of these Aussies went on to do university studies while there. A number of them became school principals and even inspectors/superintendents. Some lectured at universities in Canada or the USA. The Canadians appreciated the versatility of the young Aussie schoolteachers and their willingness to have a go.
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Sadly, Peter Cubis died following an injury while playing Rugby Union in B.C. The other three settled in there and married Canadians.
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 Bill was principal of a number of schools on the mainland before settling in Nanaimo on beautiful Vancouver Island. Nowadays, he likes to spend his Canadian summers playing golf on the island (and neighbouring islands) and then coming out to Australia in Dec-April when it's cold and snowing back in Canada. Sort of - the best of both worlds.
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Fay and I have been able to spend time with Bill both here in Australia and back in Canada. Indeed, I usually refer to Canada as our 2nd home, seeing we spent 1969-73 there. Our most recent trip there was in 2011.
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 While Bill has about a month left before he heads "home", Fay is already contemplating when we will get back to North America. During our stay in Canada we taught in BC, Alberta and the Yukon Territory. A total of four years. Great memories.