Timothy Marshall

Ship name / Flight number: Ellinis

Arrival date: 14/05/1966

Left: Tim and his best mate ‘Ginger’, 2023

Back in late 1965 myself and one and my best school mates, having seen some of Europe, decided that we would like to do and see something different.

It became a toss-up between Australia, Canada, and the USA, obviously Australia won, and two eighteen-year-old boys left on their new adventure onboard the SS Ellinis for a five-week cruise, around March 1966.

After waving goodbye to our families at Southampton docks, the ships bar was open, and our adventure was beginning.

We travelled through the Mediterranean stopping at Piraeus (Athens) for a few nights, where we had time to take in some of the sights during the day, and then on through the Suez Canal stopping at Port Said before entering the canal which was a different experience.

At the bottom of Suez Canal, we stopped at Aden where it was sometimes a little worrying as armed police was walking around the streets. Before we disembarked from the ship it was suggested that people stay away from ‘Crater City’, a silly thing to tell two eighteen-year-old boys.

From there we cruised through the ocean and joined in the fun ceremony of ‘Crossing the Line’, we got to play pirates in the partying.

Our next stop was Perth and our first views of Australia, it was only a short overnight stop for passengers to disembark, our destination was Sydney.

We did an overnight stop in Melbourne where we caught up with two of my uncles and families, they had emigrated several years earlier. It was great to see them after probably five years and future catch ups were promised.

Next stop was Sydney. What a view sailing into the harbour . We then bus to our hostel next door to the Burwood hotel.

A few days off when we looked for jos opportunities and took in as much of Sydney as we could, a swim a Manly was a must, but the locals thought we were mad at that time of the year.

I wasn’t overly impressed with the Sydney job market and one of my cousins in Melbourne got me a position with him, so I moved south.

After about twelve months I decided to try and enlist in the Royal Australian Navy. I had a short spell in the Royal Navy and that helped. I was accepted and enlisted on 03 June 1967.

I managed nearly twelve years and discharged on the 15 March 1979 after serving in the Navy as a Leading Seaman Radio Technician in the Fleet Air Arm at Nowra NSW.

I had an enjoyable time in the service and managed to see a great deal of the pacific including such places as Hawaii, one of my favourite ports, Vancouver, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Mexico, Philippines, Fiji, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore – the best part of this was that I was getting paid to visit these places.

After my discharge I spent time working for Telecom, approximately three years, before moving to Sydney and looking for opportunities there.

I had a couple of jobs before moving into the Electrical Industry in a Sales role, which was something I never imagined.

I moved through several roles, including working in Electrical Wholesalers based in Central Queensland as a Sales Representative for several years, travelling between Bundaberg and Airlie Beach. I eventually moved back to Sydney where I continued in the Electrical Wholesale Industry.

The next step in my life was a move to Canberra where I lived for approximately nine years. At the first day of my new role, I drove down Northbourne Avenue on the morning the flagpole was being lowered into New Parliament House.

During this time in Canberra, I joined a company where I would stay off and on for eighteen years, with a short break after four years. The role was in sales which took me out through the Riverina and Snowy Mountains areas.

I then moved to their Sydney office covering the Metropolitan Area and the Central and Southern Coast. I enjoyed this position and its where I spent approximately fourteen years to add to the four spent in Canberra.

During all these various adventures I still found time to have a family, I married my current wife of thirty-four years, on the Norfolk Broads in England, which my family was able to attend. We enjoyed a brief three weeks in Europe before the wedding and had a few days break in Hong Kong on the way home to Oz.

Left: Tim and his wife, Bourton, 2018

Back to the real world and a job change to a company manufacturing Electrical Switchboards and others related products. I stayed in this Industry, not always with the same company, until I retired in 2022.

I was living on the Central Coast at the time of retirement, a lovely place to live or visit, but unfortunately after thirteen years on the coast it was time to move. This time it was an opportunity to move to an area I knew, the South Coast, which had many interesting places to visit and settle down in my retirement.

An important thing I should point out is, that I am still in contact my old school mate who I came over to Australia with so many years ago. He lives just north of Newcastle.

Unfortunately, both my parents past years ago. I still have a brother back in the mother country. We sometimes travel over there, unfortunately not since Covid, and he often gets over here as he has a daughter residing just north of Sydney.

The call that my best mate and I made all those years ago has been one of the best decisions we made in our lives.

Left: Tim with one of his three great grandchildren – (sixteen grandchildren)

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