The General Langfitt Story
Chapter 6 - Resettlement in Australia (continued)
Others chose to take up the offer from the Australian Selection Commission even when they had prospects of going elsewhere. Wladyslawa Smenda, her son Janusz and daughter Teresa had been offered residency in East Africa, passages to Argentina and Canada, and were likely to gain admission to the United Kingdom. However, they were told that Western Australia had a university where students could gain scholarships which covered the fees, and Wladyslawa was keen to avoid the cold of Canada, especially after years living in the warmth of East Africa. She also wanted to 'get as far away from Russia as possible'. This sentiment was shared by many people.
Thus, in late January 1950, within five months of their first intimation that Australia might offer them refuge, over 1000 Poles who had seen out the war from their remarkable, protected settlements in India and Africa were transported to Mombasa, where they boarded the USAT General W. C. Langfitt which was to take them to their adopted homeland. Conditions aboard the General Langfitt were hot and cramped. It was, according to Jerzy Mazak, 'a troop carrier, 11500 tons, a long, tall, squeaky ship'. The journey took fourteen days, one week of which was through high storms. A few people who worked in the IRO office on board were able to secure cabins for elderly parents, but the vast majority of people slept in the 'big halls' allocated to males and females which contained around 140 bunks, stacked in layers of six. Many of the youngsters were employed in the kitchens and dining rooms, or as cleaners of the toilet blocks, understandably the least popular of tasks, especially when bouts of seasickness swept through the passengers.
Young people on the voyage from Africa to Australia
1950,
The names L - R: J Dobrostanski, J Ciechanowski, M Pilczynska, J
Lis, B Trella, W Marten.
This image was not included in the original
publication.