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| | Last November, our family moved to Australia as my husband, Kevin, had been sponsored on a Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme Visa, to become a key member at a piggery in Wongan Hills, Western Australia. As Kevin was being made redundant with the company he worked for near Yoxhall, Staffordshire, we took the opportunity to widen our horizons. We have two daughters, Alicia (5 in May) and Bethany (3 in April), so the timing was perfect for our departure to warmer climes.
The visa paperwork has been endless and we are currently waiting for our permanent residency status, but so far our initial impressions of our new life in WA, have all been wonderful. Wongan Hills is a small town about 114 miles North East of Perth, a population of 860 and is situated in, what is known as, the "Wheatbelt". For hundreds of miles all you can see are vast fields of golden wheat, the bluest skies and the fascinating indigenous trees of Australia. We can take a trip to the city at a weekend and only pass a maximum of 5 other cars before we reach the Metro area of Perth. Halfway to Perth, we stop at a small town called Bindoon, which has an excellent bakery where we stop for refreshments and a stretch with the girls.
The wildlife is obviously well known globally, and yes, we have encountered the poisonous "Redback" spider (in our back garden), snakes at Kevin’s farm, kangaroos, echidnas, bobtailed goannas and the numerous breeds of parrots and galahs.
Alicia has started the local school, which has a very relaxed feel to it. In Australia, school is not compulsory until they are aged 6 so in effect; she is doing one more year of pre-primary. Bethany has joined ‘kindygym’ on a Monday morning and they have both enrolled in the local Ballet School on Thursday afternoons. For what appears to be a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, looks can be deceiving! They are plenty of activities for both children and adults and there is always one of the locals trying to get you to join their club or organization. Sport is extremely popular and we even have an Olympic Sized outdoor swimming pool open Monday – Saturday and it is here that Alicia will be starting her school swimming lessons next week.
I have found making new friends very easy as all the people I have been introduced or have introduced myself to, have been extremely friendly and accommodating. Everyone seems to look out for you and even the children are allowed to walk to school, unsupervised from about aged 7. Wongan Hills certainly gives the impression of being a safe, family oriented town and so far I have had no regrets on leaving Uttoxeter, where we lived in England. Of course, I do miss my friends from the town and my ex-colleagues from Tesco in Uttoxeter, but for my family, this was certainly the right decision for our hopefully, prosperous and healthy future.
Sarah Watts
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