Woman of the World - ‘Girl Friday’

Effects of World War II were far reaching and my mother, a young girl growing up in Australia, felt the pangs as her family suffered under the constraints of rationing. Many everyday items such as tea, sugar and butter were scarce and in the absence of men off to fight, women took their place in the workforce. At the time my mother was too young to work and my grandmother took what jobs she could, being limited by an eye condition that affected her sight. Working in a deli, she buttered sandwich bread and promptly scraped it off so that only a sheen was left behind. 

On the weekends my mother would scrounge her pennies and take the tram into Sydney for the cinema matinee. In those days, pictures were black and white and always began with a short cartoon and a newsreel depicting current events. Tucked into the red velvet chair she was transported to countries around the world and fascinated by the glamour of movie stars who portrayed a life of which she could only dream. There, in the darkened theatre with images flickering on the silver screen, a seed was planted that would grow into a lifetime of wanderlust. 

Boarding the SS Oransay at the age of 17, my mother was chaperoned by strangers on the four week long sea journey to England. From there she travelled to Toronto, where she modelled and worked for a commercial art studio where she was known fondly as ‘Girl Friday’. Later, moving to Hollywood, she brushed shoulders with the acting community before moving to Vancouver, Canada. There she met a handsome young man who would change the course of her life. 

Travelling throughout her successful career as a Chartered Financial Planner, she visited all four corners of the earth and returned to Australia often. At the age of 90 she travelled to many of her bucket list destinations, including a lifelong dream to visit Egypt. As a surprise, I appeared on her flight and crawled through the pyramids, drank pomegranate tea and shopped the bazaars for exotic spices. I come by my own sense of wonder for travel naturally and am eternally grateful that the little girl in the cinema believed that one day, she would see the world. 

Picture,1952 Sydney Harbour

Notes of interest:

Her father threw streamers from the docks while her mother shed tears at her inability to identify her daughter on deck due to her limited sight.

Mother spent the journey toiling below deck with sea sickness, except for the calm passage across the Indian Ocean. 

The Oransay sailed from the Red Sea into the Suez Canal. At the time, hostilities between Egypt and England made it impossible to go ashore. It would be 73 years before she would return.