Melbourne
Port Phillip, Melbourne: Here on January 21st, 1947, one day after his 30th birthday, my grandfather boarded the passenger ship Orontes that would take him home after a little more than 5 years as a POW in Australia. Ironically, the real Straat Malakka was supposedly docked at an adjacent pier that day. It was also the first time he embarked on a ship again after his transport from Fremantle dropped him off in Melbourne on December 20th, 1941. Once again traversing the oceans marked a profound change in his life.
Reading my grandfather's diary entries from the return journey, I get the sense that he was eager to be out of captivity and finally back home, with family in his familiar homeland. He goes back to naval officer mode, meticulosity recording wind directions and sightings of other ships. He complains about the food rations and the sorry state of the Italian POWs. But I can't help thinking how strange it must have been, too, to return to.a Germany that had already lost the war almost two years earlier. A country in ruins, under occupation and in the process of radical political changes (in East and West). He doesn't mention any of these changes; he is just focused on getting home.
The Station Pier in Melbourne had seen its fair share of dramatic entrances and exits. For thousands of Australian soldiers, this had been the embarkation point en route to fight in WWI and WWII. Countless immigrants set foot on their new home continent here as well.
Today, Station Pier is used as a cruise ship terminal and there were two big cruise ships docked when I visited today. (I had to dodge the masses debarking when I rolled up on my e-scooter, my new favorite mode of transportation in big cities.) How different these cruises seem in comparison to those old voyages across the sea, the emigration stories or the stories of entering combat. And here I am flying across the globe, cruising on an e-scooter in Melbourne! I'm counting my blessings while I marvel at the vastness of the ocean and the changes of time from the safety of my privilege.
While on the topic of water, I need to mention an amazing exhibit at the Melbourne Museum that I saw the day before: Naadohbii: To Draw Water. It showed First Peoples artwork on the topic of water, its importance in providing nourishment and our responsibility to keep it clean/ sustainable. Needless to say there were no images of cruise or battle ships.
I am hopping on a plane to Uluru tomorrow, to get even more centered (pun intended) in my exploration of this amazing continent!
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