Page 45 - Willi Distel Diary

The start of the emigration voyage: farewell, boarding the Ormonde at Toulon, and a shore day at Naples

Proofread for easier reading. Willi wrote this page in English himself.

Voyage to Australia 1 June 1928 Last Whitsun I left my home, bound for Australia. After a sad farewell to my parents, my brother and my aunts, the train took me to Zurich, where I met my relatives and Messrs Braun and Dinger, the managers for Mr Indel in Perth. Once the tools I was bringing out for Mr Indel were ready for the voyage, I travelled through Switzerland and part of France to Toulon. The day after I arrived in Toulon, I saw the steamer Ormonde arriving from the window of my hotel. At about four o'clock I went aboard. I soon met some German people there and quickly felt at ease. After two days we reached Naples, and it was a Sunday. I went ashore with a large party, but I soon found that being alone with one girl was much nicer. Well - I had a good time, even though I could not speak to the girl. We saw the whole of Naples. Only, when the girl was lighting her cigarette [...]

Interesting facts

The Whitsun departure. Whitsun (Pentecost) is a Christian holiday in late spring, seven weeks after Easter, and a traditional public holiday across German-speaking Europe. Willi dates the start of his journey to it: '1 June 1928'.
Boarding at Toulon. Toulon is a French naval port on the Mediterranean coast. Ships bound for Australia sailed from Britain and picked up Continental passengers at Mediterranean ports, so a traveller from Switzerland would join the ship there rather than cross to England first.
The Orient Line to Australia. The Ormonde was a steamer of the Orient Line, one of the two big shipping companies (with P and O) that ran the regular mail-and-passenger service between Europe and Australia via the Suez Canal. Its ships carried both fare-paying travellers and migrants out to Australian ports.
A day ashore at Naples. Naples, in southern Italy beneath Mount Vesuvius, was a standard first port of call on the run east. Passengers were let off for a few hours of sightseeing while the ship took on supplies before heading for the Suez Canal.