» Read the Spanish version of this story

Author: Rosalyn San Gil
Storyteller: Rosalyn’s grandparents
Community Language School: Wollongong Spanish School
Main School: Saint Mary’s School

The stories of my grandparents’lives in Spain and Australia.

The story of Angelines Ciguenza

My maternal grandmother, Angelines Cigüenza, was born in Belorado, Burgos, on the 9th of May 1937. Her parents were José Campomar and Carmen Puras. My grandmother is the youngest in her family. She lived outside the town in a mill built over the Tirún River. In this mill they ground wheat to make flour for the whole town. On top of helping her parents in the mill, she fed the animals.

But her most important job was to organise their 12 cows. She had to distribute the milk through the streets of Belorado. Apart from the cows, her family had pigs, chickens, pigeons, ducks, rabbits, horses and two donkeys to plough the fields. They also grew wheat, maize, potatoes, alfalfa and other vegetables.

The story of Faustino Cigenza

My paternal grandfather, Faustino Cigenza, was also born in Belorado, on the 24th of June 1936. His parents were Fabio Cigüenza and Benita Corral. He is the second of three sons. His family owned a bar, general store, restaurant and tobacco shop. They sold agricultural products such as potatoes, pulses, cereals and beetroot to wholesalers.

In addition to working the fields, my grandfather also helped out in the family businesses.

The story of Mercedes San Gil

My paternal grandmother, Mercedes San Gil, was born on the 24th of September 1931, in Azagra, Pamplona. Her parents were Tomás Íñigo and Flora Salvador. My grandmother was the only girl out of 12 children. Her family owned land outside the town, where they grew different vegetables like asparagus and beans, and fruit like peaches and nectarines. My grandmother looked after her brothers, cooked and cleaned the house.

The story of Jesus Angel San Gil

My paternal grandfather, Jesús Ángel San Gil, was born in Azagra, Pamplona, on the 24th of April 1925. My grandfather was the fourth oldest of nine children. My grandfather’s family sold seafood. They also had land outside the town on which they grew vegetables and fruit to help the family. My grandfather’s job was to sell seafood. He also worked as an electrician in his town.

During the time immediately before travelling to Australia, work in the fields was very hard, with little possibility of economic reward. The future for their children seemed bleak, with the likelihood that they would also have to work in the fields.

Life in Spain

Regardless of the season or the weather, my grandparents got up at dawn to work in the fields. All the brothers worked together and the work was very labour intensive. There was little farm machinery at that time. Mules and horses were used for carrying loads and ploughing. Compared to the amount produced, the work was hard.

Life was little better for my grandmothers. They also got up at dawn to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner, and to care for the needs of their brothers and sisters. There were not enough hours in the day for the work that had to be done; cooking and cleaning, darning, gardening and caring for the farm animals. Out of necessity, my grandparents also had jobs in the town to supplement the family income.

In spite of all of this, they still had time for fun during the town’s festivals. These were celebrated at various times of the year. They would organise groups of their friends to have morning tea or go to the town plaza to dance and eat “churros” (deep-fried batter) with hot chocolate and roasted chestnuts. Some towns also had running of the bulls festivals or circuses.

Migrating- Jesus and Mercedes

My grandparents, Jesús and Mercedes, responded to the offer of going to Australia, a nation that was unknown to them, with great expectations. Agricultural life was hard and economic prosperity was unlikely in Spain. Immigrating to Australia was an opportunity to start a new, and hopefully more prosperous life, for themselves and their children. So they decided to try their luck in Australia.

My grandparents brought with them almost everything that they owned, including trunks full of sheets and blankets, pots and pans, plates and cutlery, an iron, all their wedding presents and many other things that would be needed to set up their new homes. The most precious things they brought with them were the photographs and memories of their family.

Preparations

One day my grandfather’s brother Jesús returned from a trip to Pamplona with news of passages to Australia. My grandparents did not even know where Australia was! After thinking about it, they called one of the Australian representatives by telephone and they put their names down for an interview. They were asked if they could read and write, and were given a medical examination. In September 1959 my grandparents Jesús and Mercedes accepted the offer to immigrate to Australia.

Before departing they sold many of their possessions, including their loyal mule. The money obtained was to be used to begin their new life. My grandparents’ family was not keen on their leaving because there was so much to be done to tend the family fields. Their family and friends questioned them regarding their desire to leave their home town since there was plenty of work. The reality was that there was plenty of work but little reward. The year 1959 (the year they left for Australia) turned out to be the worst year for harvesting.

The journey

It was winter in the days before leaving Azagra and the River Ebro broke its banks, flooding the town. For this reason my grandparents left town two days earlier than what was normally required of them. The whole family went by bus to the port city of Bilbao to farewell them. My grandparents, Jesús and Mercedes, and their two children, Jesús Carmelo and Fernando (my father), boarded the passenger ship “Monte Udala” on the 17th of December 1959.

Migrating – Faustino and Angelines
The story is different for my other grandparents, Faustino and Angelines. Six months after they were married, a representative came to Belorado looking for families wishing to immigrate to Australia. Recently married, they both responded to the offer with great expectations. This was a unique opportunity to say goodbye to life on the fields forever. In the weeks and days before their departure, the vision of a better life was tempered by the realisation that, possibly, this would be the last time they would see many of their family and friends.

The journey

The day of their departure from Belorado, my grandmother was very sad thinking about the family she was leaving in Spain and about her future. That day it snowed heavily and the bus routes were closed. Fortunately, my grandfather’s brother was a bus driver on a route that went from Belorado to Burgos. To make sure they would arrive at their destination on time, he made a special trip in the snow to Burgos.

From Burgos, they went by train to the seaport of Santander, in the north of Spain. The trip took six hours. By coincidence, my grandparents, Faustino and Angelines, departed for Australia on the “Monte Udala” almost a year later than my other grandparents, on the 10th of December in 1960. This same boat took many more emigrants from Spain to other parts of the world.

The boat had two dining rooms, two bars and two big swimming pools. During the trip my grandparents spent much of the time on the deck of the boat. From the deck they could see dolphins and whales swimming in the water. At night, they would go to the cinema or go dancing. On the trip they made lots of friends, many of whom are still friends today. In the years that followed some friends returned to Spain to live.

The boat came to Australia via The Canary Islands and Capetown, South Africa which was an area known for storms:

When I awoke one morning the sea was very rough and the waves were very big. I went to breakfast and then the boat hit a beautiful wave. I had no time to grab the table and I was thrown 25 metres in my chair until I hit the far side of the dining room.

Arrival – Mercedes and Jesus

My grandparents Mercedes and Jesús arrived in a port in Melbourne, Australia, after one month at sea. Their thoughts were about what the future would bring in this strange nation. They knew nobody except those on board the ship. They had no family or friends to greet them on arrival, and they knew no English. Nevertheless, their first impression on arriving at this “Promised Land” was one of amazement at the scale of the farms, the distances and the houses. Everything was beautiful!

At the same time they considered Australia a romantic and attractive place, full of great promise. The Australian Government gave all the emigrants some money for the rail trip to Wollongong and for living expenses. My grandparents felt that they were greatly supported as new migrants. Compared to their previous life in Spain, the Australian way of life was better. The Australians that my grandparents encountered during their early settling-in period were very generous and supportive.

The most important issues at this point were a lack of understanding of English and finding a job. Thankfully, work was plentiful in the local steelworks, mines and sea port. The work was hard but the lifestyle was very relaxed.

Life in Australia

Soon after arriving in Australia, my grandparents, Jesús and Mercedes, travelled from Melbourne to Corrimal, a town near Wollongong in New South Wales. They soon bought a house in Port Kembla. They lived there with their children for the next 30 years. My grandfather quickly found a job in the local steelworks. He worked there until his retirement in 1985.

Arrival – Faustino and Angelines

When my grandparents, Faustino and Angelines, arrived they were taken along with the other passengers to a hostel in the town of Bonegilla, situated near Albury, New South Wales. After about two weeks they travelled by rail to Wollongong. At first they rented a house in Berkeley, a suburb in Wollongong.

My grandparents remember that on their first night they ate chicken soup with rice. The next day my grandfather went in search of work at the local steelworks. Within in a month he had a full-time job there. Within two months they moved to Port Kembla. Within six months their first child was born on the 24th of July 1961 at Wollongong Hospital. They called their daughter Fabiola after my great-grandfather, Fabio. Fabiola is my mother. My grandfather worked at the steelworks until his retirement in 1994.

Even though they have lived in Australia for more than 40 years, they still fondly remember the family they left behind in Spain. They still retain many Spanish traditions on the days of festivals like Easter, their town festivals of Azagra and Belorado, and Christmas. Even though they have become accustomed to the Australian cuisine, on the majority of days they still eat many typical Spanish foods. For example, noodle soup with chickpeas, green beans and potatoes, lentils, potato omelette, paella, “cazuela de marisco”, fried calamaris and other foods, which I also love. I greatly enjoy the time I spend with my grandparents, and I enjoy the food we eat.

TODAY

Now my grandparents have lived in Australia longer than they lived in the place where they were born. Although they have Spanish blood, they now consider Australia to be their country. Their children and grandchildren have grown up here and in this country they will rest their tired bones.

My grandfather Jesus passed away in 1997 after living a very contented life here with my grandmother, his children and grandchildren. We still miss him greatly. My grandparents have enjoyed prosperity, a good home and good cars. They have sent their children to the best schools and have seen them make lives of their own.

No regrets

They don’t know if their lives would have been better if they had stayed in Spain, but my grandparents never regret coming to Australia. My grandparents took a long time to revisit Spain and their towns. They were impressed with the physical and economic changes that had occurred. The people of the town had prospered a lot since they left 20 years ago. The way of life changed with the arrival of the television, cars and agricultural technology.

Also, they observed more exchange of cultures with other countries compared to what it was like 40 years ago. The Spanish language had also changed considerably, with many words from other languages in common use.

When my grandparents were young their towns had lots of young people. Even though the canneries employed people from the town, lots of young people left the town to go to the bigger cities to find work there. Lots of the people that continue living in the towns are older in age. But when there are festivals in the towns, all the young people still return to reunite and enjoy themselves in the local style. This hasn’t changed much from the time when my grandparents were young.

The music is different but the bulls still run and the wine still warms the blood.