Litsa Kodaxopoulou (refered as Fay Sklavos in the library’s website) shares her story before, during and after they embarked to Australia by the boat Tasmania. She describes the condition in the boat, the friendships they made, talks about their feeling and the expectations and aspirations herself and her family had. They were based in Sydney, and their parents worked hard for two years to pay off the boat fares. Ten years later, she carries on writing in her diary..

“We just arrived at Fremantle, the first port in Australia. From a distance, where the land could not be seen, we saw seagulls. And dolphins. First time I see real dolphins. I had only heard of them before. From a distance – the first port seems nice. We stayed there for a while, so we could get a small taste of Australia. Things seem to be beautiful out there. There are some beautiful houses. We tried the meat pie. Ιt was good. Not like the Greek one though. Where are the Petmezaki ‘s meat pies? In Ionia (hometown), there is a Samos – style bakery which makes great meat pies. (…)

The boat moves on a normal tempo, and all the passengers seem to chat more now. They talk a lot. They plan their lives openly. They look at the promised land and it approaches their life. The kids are pleased they will soon arrive at their new homeland. Wondering what their parents have promised them..”

Small extracts from the diary