Time to fess up. I am a first-generation Australian. Yep, my dad was a pom and came to this land as a teenager.
This confession should not come as a complete surprise. Most of us would only have to go back three or four generations to discover that we are relatively fresh to this land.
I was reminded of this when gazing at a picture of some migrants arriving on a ship. There are seven people in the photo. One is waving ecstatically. A young child has a calm look on his face, wondering what all the fuss is about. Two others who are possibly a couple, have that look on their face that screams “What have we come to?” There is an old man in tears. Whether his tears are for the joy of arriving or the nostalgia of what has been left behind is difficult to say, but the droplets are authentic and honest.
When I look at this motley crew I am inspired. They have come from what was known and sure to a place where everything is unknown and unsure. This new land has a different climate, a different currency, and a different way of doing things. For some of the pilgrims, there was the added complexity of a different language to struggle with.
We owe a lot to these courageous adventurers. We would not be the people we are today without their very bold decision to travel halfway around this precious planet of ours and start afresh. It was a huge gamble and for some, it did not pay off. Our predecessors have entrusted us with a rich heritage founded on hard work. This leaves just one question to be answered. What am I entrusting to the future generations that will come after me?