Arriving in New Zealand

When the time of our departure finally came, we travelled to Brisbane by train. This was a notable journey too as the oil soaked cotton waste in one of the axle boxes on our carriage caught fire and we were shifted to another car. With our goodbyes duly said to mother's relatives, we embarked on a little coastal vessel called the "Gaybow" bound for Sydney. All that I remember of that part of the journey was seasickness and the nasty smell of the boat. We anchored at Sydney not far from a drawbridge, which had to be raised to let us through the gap. [ed. Possibly where ANZAC Bridge is now located] After a wait of a few days we boarded the "Waikari", which also had that nauseating smell which characterised steamers right up till after the First World War. Father and Mother scarcely left their cabin during the whole voyage , which took about a week. My grandmother took charge of us boys so were well looked after. Tall silk hats were the fashion at the time and one of the passengers had the misfortune to have his blown overboard by a sudden gust of wind. I fully expected the ship to stop and attempt retrieve it and was very surprised to see everyone look unconcernedly as it quickly drifted from sight. Upon our arrival at Lyttelton, father went to Christchurch by train in search of accommodation for the family while mother stayed oin the ship with us boys. I had reason to remember this circumstance for I enjoyed sitting on a bollard looking at all the activity in the harbour, all of which was completely new to me. All went well until I fell from my perch and collided with the frayed end of a steel cable that punctured my leg just below the knee. it made a nasty hole but the stewardess made a neat job of patching it up. This incident left me with a scar which I bear to this day. It was November 4th and the following day was Guy Faulkes Day. I had never seen nor heard of this before but it was duly enlightened by my grandmother, who promised to mae a Guy for me the following year which she did.