My background...starting with my german father.

So, let me start by talking about my dad and a little history on him. He was born in 1937, in Germany, in a small country town. He told me memories of watching World war II on television, walking for miles to pick up his girlfriend so they could attend dances together, getting in trouble with the police for flying down the icy hills into people on their home-made toboggans. He also told me of grim tales of there family's poverty, with both his mum, his dad, 2 brothers and 1 sister, he was the oldest and had a lot of responsibility - which included his father driving him around to houses to beg for food. Under all of these pressures, he ended up leaving home at 15 years of age. That is when he started working in working camps with other young boys. He doesn't tell me of much in between, but I sense that his marriage with his first wife, to whom he had his first daughter was not something that worked out. He then told me how he ended up on a boat from Germany, destined for the promised land, Australia. I think these were of similar kind to the boats from England, but I  don't think he was a criminal.He told me also, that the vessel stopped in Perth, WA first but then he decided to stay on-board and wait for the vessel to arrive into Melbourne.