REPATRIATED AUSTRALIANS

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8467, 18 June 1907, Page 3

REPATRIATED AUSTRALIANS

The Swedish steamer Atlantic, which arrived at Melbourne the other day, had on board 418 Australians who had become stranded in South Africa, and were being repatriated at the cost of the Commonwealth Government. The vessel had been converted into an immigrant ship. The passengers were divided into two sets —married and single. The married people and their children were housed in the forward-hold, while the single men were relegated to the af-ter-hold. Over the hatch ways pin'te gratings had been put, so that air might descend into the crowded holds, while the hold was divided into two storeys by a floor of pine. In the married quarters cabins had been built, with bunks for twelve persons in each. The single men had to sleep in hammocks. Nearly everyone was comfortably dressed. It was hard to believe that these people were so poverty-stricken that they could contribute nothing to their passage money back. Some of them smoked cigars, but that was among the single men. The women were obviously the wives of working men. s Children, too, wore the careworn look of those who kpow what it is to be hungry. One baby three / months old died a few days after the vessel left Durbart. These married people were glad t6 see Australia. Their treatment on the voyage had delighted them. Down in the afterhold the welldressed single gentlemen talked in a different way. "Something really ought to be said in protest against the way we have been treated," exclaimed one of them. "We have been herded together in this pig-stye, and we have been fed worse than pigs. For tea we got a. few biscuits and a few daubs of treacle. We got better rations than that in the war. For breakfast we got porridge and more biscuits. Dinner was a better meal, but I could not eat it—bully beef and tinned mutton. We only got soup twice all the voyage, and until a week ago we had no bread." All the single men did r.ot speak in this way; but there was a disaffected section. They held meetings of protest often, and sent formal resolutions to the master, Captain Schmidt, who did his.best to satisfy them. On one occasion such a meeting actually passed a vote of want of confidence in the skipper, and expressed its profound conviction that he had lost his bearings, - and would V never reach Australia. The captain, fortunately, had a strong sense .of humour, or there might have been trouble. The night before the vessel reached port, however, two illuminated addresses —rough but genuine—were presented to him —one in the afterhold and one in the forward. All united in telling the same story of depression in South Africa. Of the 418 immigrants 173 were for Victoria, 190 were for New South. Wales, 19 for Queensland, 24 for West Australia, and 12 for South Australia. The Queensland section was sent away in the steamer Cooma, and the South and West Australian passengers were put on board the Burrumbeet. Everybody was required to sign a paper declaring that he was an Australian, and giving the names of friends and relatives here, the ship he left in, his occupation, age, etc. This searching inquiry showed that about fifty of the "repatriated Australians" had never been in Australia before, but desiring to leave South Africa they had seized the chance of a free passage, and palmed themselves off a3 Australians. Twenty - five immigrants worked their way as stewards.