Ship Details

Rig

Escort Vessel/Passenger Liner

Built

1942

Built In

Tonnage

12,464

Demise

Completed as an escort aircraft carrier by the US Navy. 1942: Transferred to Royal Navy & renamed. 1946: Returned to the US Navy. 1952: Rebuilt as a cargo vessel, Sitmar, reg. Panama. 1958: Refitted as a passenger vessel in New York & Genoa, renamed. 1966: reg. Liberia. 1972: Laid up at Genoa.

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My family arrived in Melbourne aboard the Fairsky in March 1968 and proceeded to Whyalla. We were 10pound poms.

I also arrived on the Fair Sky in May. I have had a wonderful life in Australia. Still working today and I am 76 years old. I travelled with beautiful people but have lost contact throughout the years. Ina & George Christie & Beryl & Derrick still in my heart. Such great times full of optomisim. Alex .

My family arrived in Melbourne aboard the Fairsky in March 1968 and proceeded to Whyalla. We were 10pound poms.

We, mum dad & 6 kids , the last 3 were triplets, arrived in melb Dec 24 1961, we then went through to South Australia.

We, mum dad & 6 kids , the last 3 were triplets, arrived in melb Dec 24 1961, we then went through to South Australia.

We were passengers on the SS Fairsky returning to the UK in 1971, my surname then was Piggin, had a lovely trip, lovely memorieseven though I was only nearly 16, what an experience with stops like Figi and Hawaii.... sadly on our voyage we had a you lad go overboard can anyone else remember this particular voyage.....

Hi Susan, I was on the Fairsky voyage from Adelaide to Rotterdam in 1971, I was only 7 at the time and remember the incident of the young lad going overboard, they searched for him but never found him. Getting biscuits from the crew and going to watch a movie, and wild seas where plates slid off the table and poor waiters slipping on the floor.

We sailed to Australia August September 1964 Frank and Meg Bradley, our parents Catherine (me) Pamela and baby brother Robert. Arrived 10 September 64 at balgownie hostel Fairy Meadow. Lots of people on the hostel at that time. The Fettes, the Phillis’ Mary and Jean Wright. The Sowrys. Mcconvell. Beattie, Wilson’s and many more.

My parents, my sister & myself left South Hampton on 6th August 1966 arrived in Brisbane but then we eventually settled in Sydney. We too were classed as 10 pound Pom

I arrived in Melbourne around 30 June 1969 off the Fairsky. I was 21. Placed overnight in a hostel but next morning asked to leave and get on the coach that was waiting outside. I was dropped off at a St Kilda boarding house (still there today) but it was more like a brothel. Made to pay upfront after we were told we could have a fortnight's free accommodation. I escaped at dawn next morning and luckily got a spot in the YWCA in the city.

In September 1964 I cruised the Pacific Islands on board the Fairsky. I had my 21st Birthday on board. Somewhere in my shed of memories I have all the memorabilia menus etc from that cruise. What great memories

We arrived at Port Adelaide in May 1970 and will be celebrating 50 years in Australia in May 2020, what I can't find is the exact date of our arrival, can anyone help?

Left Southampton Dec 1962 and arrived at Sydney in January 1963. Lived in Blacktown near Sydney for nine months before moving to Sunbury in Melbourne. Came back in Feb 1965 as Mum and dad couldn't settle.

We, Mum and seven of us kids, left Sri Lanka on the Fairsky in February 1965 arriving in Southampton in March 1965, A memorable journey. I am trying to find the passenger list, anyone know where I can get one please?

another 10 pound pom . it was the maiden voyage after refit. crew sick in bay of biscay only a dozen or so passengers up for breakfast. straight to aden . then a hell of a storm one day out. furniture and passengers all over the place. locked doors. props out of the water, crew sick again. 2 days storm then straight to fremantle. crew were awful , ship was just a wreck when eventually got to melbourne

Rodney Hall that date would have been 22 of May 1970 as I was also on the Fairsky arriving in Adelaide.

My uncle emigrated 1961 Jack Simpson and Elizabeth Gertrude Nee Brough. I have a copy of the shipping certificate. Wondered if you can help further

We, my dad, mum & younger brother left Dumbarton April 1966. Travelled from Scotland to Southampton to board the Fairsky. We stayed in whyalla, s. Australia for just over 2 years. Sadly my mum who worked in the whyalla hospital was killed in a road/train accident. By this time we had another addition to the family, another brother. My 2 brothers, 10 years old and 9 months old and myself who was 12 had to return to Scotland as I was too young to look after a family. My dad joined us 1 year later. He worked for BHP smelting iron ore and had to earn money for flights home. At that time flights were extremely expensive. To this day I wish we had stayed in whyalla.

It has been 50 years this july since my parents and 5 kids sailed from Southhampton to Sydney Australia. They have passed now but myself and my two Brothers and two sisters have had a great life and have now extended the family significantly. I had my 13th birthday on the Fairsky and remember most of the trip and what a great adventure it was for us all. I am still astounded how my parents left all they knew to travel to Australia with five kids in tow. Having my own family and only three kids, I dont think I could have made that journey.

I arrived on the Fairsky in July 1965.landing in Melbourne (Where the Spirit of Tasmania now docks) through customs then herded on a train to Adelaide..We were lucky we were sponsored so had someone meet us at Adelaide train station and temporary accommodation

My mother, sister & I left Southampton in March 1965 as ten pound poms. We settled in Western Australia & my mother recently turned 100. Does anyone know how I get the passenger list ? My sister married Doug Pepper after meeting him on board but sadly she passed away in 1985.

I travelled as a £10 pom from Southampton to Western Australia arriving on the Fairsky in December 1969. I was with my friend Susan Briggs who I lost touch with and would love to hear from, or anyone that was on that voyage. The ship broke down twice and had to make an unscheduled stop in Durban South Africa.

We set sail from Southampton (from Liverpool initially) in August 1969 as 10 pound poms. I had my 5th birthday on board, ive got pics of me blowing out my candles flashing a grin as wide as the pacific. I remember crossing the equator and the party on deck that followed, I recall all the kids being given gifts....mine was a huge rubber Bugs Bunny and I think my sister got a kangaroo (can't recall my brothers gift). I loved the pools on deck, the kiosk guy who became a family friend spoiling us with mars bars and the like and the friendships we forged with other migrant families...they became our new 'family' in Australia and still remain so today. Sadly, we have lost a few heartbeats along the way, my own Dad being the most recent and he passed, ironically, 49 years to the day that we arrived in Sydney Harbour. This year we took some of him home to his native Liverpool and he took his final boat ride on a ferry across the Mersey. He absolutely loved his life here in Aus!! A few of us travelled back and forth and ive finally returned (had to re-emigrate), married and happily settled here once more. I think our parents were pioneers....trail blazers, they took an opportunity and helped create the Aussie we know today. Im super proud of them, and us...and love this life (albeit the heat is a swine during menopause! hahaha). I maintain to this day that the fair Sky was THE best passenger ship during those days....very very fond memories of it all and I still have my certificate for 'crossing the line'.

My family arrived in Sydney November 1959 on the fair sky we Were ten pound poms sailed out of Southampton .alec and Betty wiley myself and my brother Alan.we came by train overnight to Yungaba hostel kangaroo point.in the early days here we had contact regularly with the timpsons who went to Boonah and eumundi as dairy share farmers.also the jones,s from wales their father built a house at Capalaba the eldest boys were Derek and Ralph and I think a sister Joan where are they now

Going back to the Netherlands. We came from Australia To England, 6 weeks on the Fairsky, from November to December 1969. My family name is Pompe. We, my sister and I, loved to sing for a free lemon drink. We have seen Tahiti, Panama, Curaçao and so much more. I remember that we came to gulf of Biskaje and all the dishes where falling on the floor. The Fairsky is planted in my heart. Love to all Corrie

In 1969 I was 5 years old on the Fairsky with my mother Sylvia and infant brother Alan, after the death of my father. I still have wonderful memories of the trip from Australia to the UK. My parents had migrated to Australia 6 years previously with my 3 older siblings. During this trip, my brother had his first birthday and had febrile convulsions, we had terrible weather, we travelled through the Panama, the ship broke down in the middle of an ocean and man landed on the moon. Very eventful.

In 1969 I was 5 years old on the Fairsky with my mother Sylvia and infant brother Alan, after the death of my father. I still have wonderful memories of the trip from Australia to the UK. My parents had migrated to Australia 6 years previously with my 3 older siblings. During this trip, my brother had his first birthday and had febrile convulsions, we had terrible weather, we travelled through the Panama, the ship broke down in the middle of an ocean and man landed on the moon. Very eventful.

I sailed from Australia to UK on Fairsky with my parents and elder brother (he was 11 I was 8). Although we were initially allocated a cabin in the bilges the purser upgraded us to the Sun Deck as dad was serving in the British Army. Our ports of call were Auckland, Brisbane, Penang (think Singapore was suffering a cholera outbreak) Colombo (Ceylon in those days), Port Said, Naples and Southampton. I have so many happy memories of the voyage.

sailed on the fairsky in 1969.brisbane to panama. we were supposed to catch it at sydney but missed it due to hangover and had to take a bus to brisbane . made it and all turned out well.they said over the pa that if we were on deck at a certain time we might see the astronauts slash down in te pacific. they were the moon ones . anyhow didn,t see them. we were just a little bit to far south.but good ole fairsky.booze was cheap,food was good and the women easy.what more could a man ask for?

My father, mother, brother, sister and I sailed from Southampton on the Fair Sky, arriving in Australia in the summer of 1959. I don't remember much as I was 7yo, but do remember Mum and Dad buying mechanical toys from the boats in Aden. There was a terrible storm at one point, and Mum thought we were all going to die! Then there was the Crossing the Line ceremony, where they gave us all certificates, which we still have. And there was a fancy dress party for the children, where they provided lots of crepe paper for costumes, which apparently were very colourful and imaginative!

Jack, Maureen and Jackie arrived in Perth WA on 25 April 1971. We were on the Fair Sky for 4 weeks and had a great time.

I left Southampton on the 'Fairsky' with my parents and sister on 13 March 1960. We sailed via Suez and Aden and landed in Melbourne on 11 April. We were met by my father's brother and then travelled to the town of Myrtleford in north-eastern Victoria. The bucolic lifestyle of Myrtleford represented an enormous change from our existence in the east end of London! I completed my schooling in the town (I was pupil number 154, after leaving a grammar school of 800) and then moved to Melbourne to attend university in 1965. I became a secondary teacher and, later, a principal. I have been married for almost fifty years, and I have two children and three grandchildren. Apart from two years in the country, I have lived in Melbourne for most of my life. My parents and sister have all gone now, so I am the last survivor of the foursome that took the plunge in 1960 and headed for a new life in the Antipodes. I have never regretted coming to Australia - although I do still miss the cold Christmases!

I am trying to find the dates that we (my mother and sister Pat) left Southhampton on the Fairsky, alighting in Melbourne. I thought our arrival was either November / December 1959 or January 1960 but cannot find any data to say the Fairsky docked in Melbourne during those dates. We came first class to meet up with our father who was already living here for his English company.

My Mum, Dad, Brother, Sister and myself emigrated to Australia leaving Southampton on the Fairsky on 26 April 1966 and docked in Melbourne on 26 May 1966. One of the best months of my life

Hi, I'm looking for my family who sailed from Southampton on the 6th of January 1960 heading for Canberra and then settling in Perth. His name is David Neil Robinson. His two children Kim and Jacqueline and wife was called Doreen. That didn't travel with him I believe as I think they flew with BA. Any help would be great as I lost contact with than about 15 years ago.

I boarded the Fairsky or Fairstar in Sydney in Jan 1971. I was alone but was soon entertained by 26 lovely young ladies who won a one week trip to Wellington, by winning their local beauty contest. I got off in Panama after 28 glorious days. If anyone was on the voyage and reads this, I was the "stayer" Canadian who everyone figured was the stowaway. There was one but he got caught during a life raft practice, when everybody had to go to their life raft station - they kept him in the sick bay because there was no brig. I saw this same ship in 1988 in Skagway, Alaska, plying the inside passage route. If Jan Cooper from Adelaide is reading this: hi, I'll never forget...

Ex Bremerhafen Nov 1971, six wonderful weeks aboard the Fairsky (Via Southampton, Cape Town, Fremantle)! Arrived in Sydney Boxing Day Dec 1971. I was just old enough to join the Actors' Guild, participated in the entertainment performed in the Main Hall. Some lovely folks, I recall many names from the passage and also from the East Hills Hostel, Sydney NSW. Wish I could reflect with the same degree of nostalgia on the years that followed, but I still feel like an outsider; funny that. A "car routinely bogged in the sand" best describes life in Oz.

We left Southhampton in June 1959 and arrived July 7 to Melbourne and then on to Sydney 11.7.59 a family of 8 ,5 boys and me. Through the Suez canal . What a journey! But it was the best move my father even made . We love Australia..... good ole Government , proud to be a ten pound pin and now a Australian citizen about a decade ago. My brothers are in their 70's and I am nearly 66 yrs

Mum, Dad and we 10 pound poms traveling from South Hampton to Melbourne via Suez Canal arriving in July 1965. My parents lived in Geelong Victoria until 2 years ago then moved to West Victoria. I moved to New Zealand 30 years ago and we have all had a wonderful life. No regrets.

I arrived in Australia in October 1958 on the Fair Sky, the Bee Gees were on the same ship I believe. We were a family of 7 and all 10-pound poms.

I arrived with my parents and younger brother in March or April 1968, I was 14, I didn't want to go to Australia, I left on my own 3 years later, the sea voyage to get there was the best bit for me

Left Southampton June 10th 1971, a 10 pound pom. Best decision of my life, what a fantastic country Australia is and Sydney is amazing. Coming June it will be 50 years. I shared a cabin with Alan Parlour and we remained life long friends.

My sister Gloria and i also sailed on the Fairsky on June 10 1971. 10 pound poms too. Had a fantastic six weeks. Would love to do it all again.

My sister Gloria and i also sailed on the Fairsky on June 10 1971. 10 pound poms too. Had a fantastic six weeks. Would love to do it all again.

1961 our family of 5 sailed from Southampton to Melbourne I am trying to find our docking date I think April but not 100% sure. We transferred to the Broadmeadows army camp where my family made many great friendships. 10 pound poms and have never regretted the move Mum and Dad have since passed both went back for holidays and came back saying we made the right decision to come here. I ff anyone can help with the docking date Mallison family

I went on a New Year cruise on Fairsky. We sailed 31st December 1971 and the trip was Sydney, Brisbane,Noumea, Porto Villa,,Apia( Samoa) and Pago Pago(American Samoa.Did anyone do this cruise, two weeks I think it was!

I did a 17 day cruise on the Fairsky in November 1976. The cruise was from Brisbane to Sydney, Auckland, Suva and Lautoka in Fiji onto Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu (New Hebrides back then) returning to Brisbane and then Sydney. It was the first cruise for me and met some great people - Karen, Heather, Bob, Graham and Anne (little Annie from Cessnock). Have cruised 9 times in recent years to the South Pacific, Mediterranean and Cnanda/Alaska and around Australia. Still hold fond memories of cruising on the Fairsky - best cruise ever.

My husband left to go back to the UK ..Adelaide June 1971 to Southampton but is not sure of the name of the ship he travelled on...He stopped at usual stops via The Panama canal but also stopped at The Azores. He has done the journey several times and is convinced it was a Sitmar ship . Has anyone any ideas as we can't find definitive information. He probably spent most of the time in the bars as he was 25.....

As above email corrected

I left Sydney on the Fairsky bound for Durban aprox. April 1968. Did another else make this voyage?

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