Tag: 1960s

"I'll Never Find Another You"     The Seekers  •  1965
There's a new world somewhere
They call the Promised Land
And I'll be there someday
If you will hold my hand
I still need you there beside me
No matter what I do
For I know I'll never find another you

Three young men stand on the deck of the Fairsea waving to their families. They won’t see them for at least three years and will return as changed people. They will look back on this moment as the most significant of their lives and think that maybe nothing will ever be as intoxicating, thrilling or exhilarating as life in the “Old Dart”.

Our narrator, Will Price, was one of the three. They met at Wollongong Teachers’ College in 1961, qualified as Primary Teachers and had spent the last three years in their respective classrooms. Keith and Phil had been posted to tiny, remote, one teacher schools, meeting the daily struggles alone, with little or no help from the indifferent Department of Education. Will was placed in the western suburbs of Sydney with a “Headmistress from Hell”, who told him he would be better suited to life as a used car salesman.

It was Keith who inspired the others to dream of a better life. As the year 1966 came to an end the three friends had all but completed arrangements for their exodus. From left to right Phillip, Keith and Will are celebrating Keith’s 21st birthday.

We are fortunate that Will wrote frequently to his family. Those flimsy, pale blue aerogrammes were one of the only means of communication, along with postcards and slides (the cheapest form of photography). They reflect views and sayings which may not be considered politically correct in 2025 but are an accurate reflection of what it was like to be young and bursting with excitement in the “Swinging ’60s”. Out there, over the seas, was a big, wide world waiting to be discovered.

This is my 10th A to Z. Most of my blogs have been about family history or travel. I used to spend April frantically trying to complete my posts but now I spend a whole year intermittently working on them so they are ready to go on the day.

Before I close, my thoughts go to my friend Sue Martin who is no longer with us. She was an ardent supporter of my writing, giving me encouragement every year with her usual enthusiasm. She is greatly missed.