FAIRSTAR

I sailed on the Fairstar in February 1990 coming up to 30 years. It was a 14 day cruise and had Mental as Anything on board doing 3 concerts. Can anyone tell me the exact day we sailed at the end of February. Thankyou Michele

I am an investigator and have been retained by an elderly man who travelled on the Fairstar in late 1979 early 1980. He met a young lady on the cruise who was aged about 19 or 20 y.o. This young lady was very kind to him as he was a Polio sufferer and needed a lot of assistance on board. He wants to leave a fairly large portion of his estate to her. All he can recall now is her first name is Debbie and she lived in Redbank Plains, Brisbane suburb. He would recall her surname if he saw it. Are there historical passenger lists available for the relevant cruise ? Hope you can help, Kind regards, Keith

Travelled from Southampton on the Fairstar on the "assisted passage" scheme arriving in Sydney on the 4th August 1970. This year will mark 50 years living in Sydney. Wonderful trip.

My family saied from southhampton in july 1964. Went through suiz canal first stop WA then onto melbourne and our stop was sydney.I was sixteen and I had 2 younger brothefs mum and dad . Would like to contact with somone on the same ship

We left Southampton on 29 April 1970 (should have left on the 26th but there was a strike). Arrived in Fremantle on 23 May 1970, 50 years ago today. Went via Las Palmas and Cape Town. I was 12. Best thing Mum and Dad ever did for us was to bring us to Australia and escape the hole that is England. The Fairstar was a great experience for me, lots to do, a new movie every three days. Crossing the equator and celebrating. Expected clear sunny skies but it was rainy and still hot. Loved the food, the games, the entertainment. Met the Halstead family from Lancashire and the Kershaws. Mum and dad stayed friends with them for years. Wonder if the Fairstar is still sailing somewhere.

My mum, Vera and her parents Daisy &Tom Harding along with my brother and me were the £10 poms in 1964 to Australia. I recall the children's eating place in the basement arra of the ship. The smell of freshly cooked bread rolls still bring back memories now. Crossing the equator party and looking over the railings at all the mess being made. My mum didnt fair well with sea sickness and the rough seas, or the wall of water in bad weather. We arrived in Fremantle where we were met by a cousin, don't remember anything after that until my grandad brought a house in Mt Gravatt Brisbane. We lived there for 4years then come back via ship to the UK. Think the ship was TV Fairsky. Going through the canal and seeing soilders with guns watching the ship go through still in my memory now , I was 7 then, in 1967. Does anyone know if there are any books on the two ships Fair star & Fairsky. Please email me . diannebowyer@msn.com.

I was on the Fairstar landed August 1964 i Sydney, I was 18 years old with about 20 other lads with the Big brother movement would like to here from any one that came on the ship at the same time.

I recently bought a vintage metal trunk marked with a sticker from a passenger who sailed from Melbourne to Southampton on this ship in 1968. The name on the trunk says J Dawson-Smith and I would love to know more about this item and the person behind it!

Arrived in Sydney at Piermont 13 around August 1966. Pouring with rain. Stopped at Port Said, Aden (but not allowed off...gunfire on the hills...) ,Fremantle, Adelaide where people on the docks the things at the boat and yelled for us to go home, Sydney...can't remember stopping in Melbourne. Being 13 i loved the Jungle Bar.

I sailed with a girlfriend on the voyage coming out of Melbourne 17th March 1972, and within two days had met my future husband. One story in particular I remember concerned a middle-aged Dutch woman who had become too rowdy one evening. The Master at Arms, a burly Italian officer, escorted her to the lift where he delivered her a disciplinary punch to the jaw which had the desired effect. To the best of my memory, it was the only time I heard of any trouble with passengers, despite the vast majority being young Aussies under 30 on their way to the UK and very affordable duty-free alcohol . It was a memorable journey - a six week party - and one I hold very dear to my heart, despite having cruised many times since on much larger and more grandiose ships.

I sailed on the Sitmar line on, I believe, the Fairstar with my mother, stepfather and sister from Southampton to Auckland. We departed November 1972, I was 16 years old at the time. After a very, very rough journey through the Bay of Biscay when most passengers and a large number of the crew were ill, the route was the Azores, through the Panama Canal, Raratonga, Fiji, Sydney and Auckland. Because we arrived at Raratonga on Christmas Day we were not allowed to land and spent the day cruising around the island. I remember on arriving in Sydney a very vocal older lady in a fur coat sitting on her suitcases on the quayside and refusing to stay in Australia and demanding to be allowed back on board to go home. I made friends on board with two sisters, one year older and one year younger than me, who were heading for Dunedin with their parents. It was a wonderful 6 week journey for carefree teenagers.

I recently purchased some vintage suitcases in Nottingham. One has a Sitmar Line sticker on with the name T.H. Freeman traveling from Sydney to Southampton, 15.10.69. I believe the ship name says Fairstar although it's slightly ripped. Thought I would post in case anyone knows who this is.

I was on the same voyage as Angela in an earlier post. The ship left Southampton on 30 November 1972 and arrived in Auckland on 1st January 1973. Because the Suez Canal was shut off, we went on the less interesting route via the Azores, Panama City and Tahiti. I was 7 1/2 years old and have very strong memories of the trip. The first 3 days out of Southampton were so stormy that my mum, sister and I were so sick that we spent this time in our cabin. (I heard later that no further ships had been allowed to leave Southampton because the storm was so severe.) My dad, who worked on boats on the Thames wasn't affected at all had a great time doing what he wanted while we were indisposed. I remember going on deck on day 3/4 with my Dad (when it had calmed down a bit) and watching as alternately the sea went up in the sky and then disappeared out of view. Other memories. Getting off at the Azores and it being so lovely and warm after England in November and walking funny on dry land. How hot and sticky it was in Panama and watching the ships go in the opposite direction along the canal. Crossing the equator and feeling sick with the smell of spaghetti sauce that people were covered in (the crew were Italian) and it being smeared on the stair railings. How sunburnt my sister and I got, with our faces all peeling off (a parent would be arrested for that today). Going to a beach in Tahiti and the sand being too hot to stand on and the sea too warm to swim in. The swimming pool with the portholes into the bar. Singing in the Christmas concert. Avoiding the ‘girl’ presents and choosing a rifle as my Christmas gift.

Ship Fairstar left Southampton 19 July 1967, and arrived at Fremantle 14 August 1967. First stop Las Palmas at the Canary Islands, 2nd stop Cape Town South Africa. I remember as a 10 year old being not allowed to watch the Michael Caine movie 'Alfie', so being cheeky enough, me, and another lad asked the Purser for his autograph, and constructed a permission slip to show the Steward at the door - all us kids were soon chased out of the cinema not long after. I also learnt how to play chess on the cruise. First memories of arriving at Fremantle was large sign that said ' Welcome to Australia', and I could never get over how clear, and blue the sky was. The best decision my parents ever made was to emigrate

We left Fremantle for Southampton on June 9th 1967, on the TV Fairstar. We were due to sail via Suez Canal, but 3 days before sailing we got a telegram from Sitmar advising us that the Suez canal was now closed and the ship would now sail via Panama Canal. We were offered a refund but we chose to go. Got to see some great places like Tahiti, Panama City, Curacao, Ft Lauderdale and Lisbon. We were the first Sitmar ship to go through the Panama Canal since the 6 day war. We saw the new Collins class submarine going through the canal on its way to Australi. Arrived Southampton July 17,1967. Remember listening to the band in the Zodiac room, having drinks in the Surf Bar and buying a hot dog at the Jungle Room. Also went into the Rainbow Room. Made friends with a Perth couple Peter and Oriel Sykes who taught us to play canasta.Also went to Italian lessons being held for those interested.Food was good but we soon got fed up with the very rich Italian cake dessert which was a regular on the menu. Crossed the International Date Line and had two 19th's of June. Also crossed the Equator and given a certificate by Father Neptune!! Also memorable, I broke a tooth in eating the ship's very hard toast and had to visit the dentist who was actually the ship's doctor. He drilled out the broken piece and because he had no assistant, my husband had to operate the manual pedal machine to work the drill! "Pedal faster" demanded the doctor. Eventually he filled the tooth and said the filling should last a few months. It lasted 25 years!. The ship charged me $5.00 which in those days was exorbitant. We had a cabin with double bunks and a porthole and sometimes in rough seas we saw fish swimming past. The cabin included a small bathroom. Also on this voyage was Arthur Calwell, the Federal leader of the Opposition in Canberra. It was our first trip overseas and we still recall wonderful times on the 'Fairstar". Does anyone else remember this first voyage through the Panama Canal?

I was working in a factory "getting experience" as an 18 yo having just left school when I heard that Fairstar was coming in to Southampton and they needed someone to work in the duty free shop. Sounded like an interesting break and so with 2 days notice joined up as possibly the most junior member of the crew (There were about 8 british crew:radio officer, hairdressers, nurse and shop staff, vastly outnumbered by the italian crew). This was May 1967. I too remember being told that we were one of the last ships though the canal but that didn't close until June 5th. Anyhow my life was mainly focussed around going down to the depths of the ships holds, finding the next box of sweets or other supplies and bringing them up through the nether regions of the ship to the duty free shop; or if the weather was good enough to sell sweeties to young families by one of the pools. My shop there was 2 toilets knocked into one with a hatch to the outside world. Then at each port, we usually had 24 hours to explore the locality of the harbour: in Port Suez they liked to point us to the remains of UK bombed buildings from 1956; Aden was closed because of terrorist activities; Tahiti interesting and panama, seedy! I hardly ever interacted with passengers or indeed went into passenger quarters, but enormously enjoyed my first circumnavigation of the globe. One connection with passengers was that we breakfasted next to the padded cell which was put to good use on the return from Australia.

I sailed on the Fairstar with Patricia Clarke on 22 January 1965. We sailed to Melbourne, Perth, Colombo on through the Suez Canal. By passed Indonesia! We did the overland bus trip to Cairo, Pyramids and Museum, lunch at the Cairo Hilton! Then on to Naples and Southampton. The Grand Tour of the 60s, love to hear if anyone else was on that voyage.

I sailed on the Fairstar, we left on 2nd July 1970. The ship sailed to Las Palmas stopping to have a quick day trip around. Then on to Cape Town by then I had made some friends and we had a taxi to take us around to see some of the sights. Ladies was not allowed in the pubs then.( Also when we came to Australia Ladies were only allowed in the ladies lounge.) Then across the Bay of Biscay and the Bight was was about 2 weeks from Cape Town to Perth. Lots of people got off of the ship and we also took on new people returning to UK. Had a trip around Perth town and back on the ship, next stop Melbourne where some of my friends got off. I stayed on until Sydney. It was an amazing trip many things to do on the ship. I had my 22nd birthday on the ship. One lady I met and am still friends with Toni Wager as she was known then. I also met my future husband Terry Hardiker on the ship who got off in Melbourne. But came up to Sydney some months later, so we got together then and got married in 1971, we had two daughters Tina in 1977 and Jane in 1982. We stayed together and lived in Perth for some years and parted in 1992 then I took the girls back to UK where we stayed until Tina got married in 2001 and then in 2002 Tina and Iain came back to live in Perth where they still live with their 2 children Fraser and Isla. Jane also came over with her boyfriend Gareth in 2004 and they travelled around and went to see her dad in Queensland, but came back to Perth to live they have 3 children Zara, Lucas and Sasha. When we left the ship we went to a migrant hostel in Sydney , we were allowed to stay there until we got jobs and somewhere to live. Toni and I both got jobs the first week we were here and a flat in Darlinghurst. It was great in Sydney then very lively. Stayed in Sydney off and on for years until returning to uk in 1979. But Terry wanted to come back so we came back to Perth in 1982. When I went back to uk in 1992 I stayed untill 2006. I then came back and settled in Perth .

My family sailed from Southampton in 1970 arriving in Melbourne on 1 August to what was apparently one of the worst storms in 20 years. I remember the whole voyage being great fun for a small child. Lots of wonderful activities, including putting on a performance of The Pied Piper complete with crepe paper costumes, crossing the line with eggs and cereals, the swimming pool and being free to run round the ship. Walking round Cape Town was a shock as the policemen all had guns. We came back to the UK four years later on the Fairsky.

Travelled on the Fairstar from Sydney via Melbourne to Southampton in January 1970 and was wondering if anyone who was on that trip has any memories and photos.

In 1964 my family migrated from the UK to "Sunny Australia" I was 4 and my sister Helen 3. I recall playing in the swimming pools, sneaking into the adult areas, where kids weren't allowed, and spotting the flying fish from the bow and sometimes the stern. There was a celebration crossing the equator where some of the crew were painted . Mum, Lillian, and Dad, Bill met a family who had a son Nigel who was close to my age. We sailed through the Suez canal and some people threw coins in to the murky water that some local boys would swim down for. The water looked murky and I had no idea how they could find the coins. At other places on the canal traders would sell goods to the passengers. The items and money were exchanged by placing the item or money in a hat attached to a cord which was pulled up to the boat then back to the sellers on the shore. We also stopped at Aden where the footpath was so hot that it burned my feet through the pumps (sand shoes) I was wearing. So I ran from one patch of grass to the next to avoid the pain. I felt sorry for a local man trying to sell sun-baked cans of coke from a filthy wheelbarrow. At one stage the weather was quite rough and it felt weird being the only people in a large dining room for breakfast. My father asked where everyone was and the Italian waiter gestured vomiting in a bag. As we approached Melbourne the weather was cold grey and drizzling. Some of the passengers were sarcastically groaning the words of the sales promo, "Welcome to sunny Australia" Is that why they called us "Whinging Poms?" Does anyone know the date that we would have arrived in Melbourne?

I won Radio Hauraki's competition..a 14 night Cruise in 1981 on board The Fairstar. We saw Sydney, Lautoka, Fiji and Western Samoa Apia, etc an amazing cruise. Met some wonderful people on board.

I boarded the Fairstar in April 1969 for a great adventure aged 21 after being sponsored by the West Australia Government as a building tradesmen i was very pleased with that .Met people from all walks of life on the ship a lot of Scots & Irish who did not like people from England (i was from Kent in the south ) any way landed in Freemantle went to the pub a couple of days later and was told there are too many of you POM,s in Australia go home i shrugged it off needless to say no jobs were available in Perth so i was told to go North so i did a company from Adelaide named Baulderstones gave me a job where i met some nice blokes .Ended up in Sydney where i loved the city but still a lot of hostility towards the English i never got use-to that .Came back for a trip in 1978 to visit my ageing parents my mother was very ill and died after two years i then was told that my -re-entry visa would not be extended so i became a UK resident once again .As i often regret my decision to come back to England for a trip as i often think about the friends that i made in Australia .

My sister Sandra and myself sailed to Australia as £10.00 poms with our parents Lilian and Donald Franklin. We left Southampton in 1962 on the Canberra . I remember sailing via Naples, India and the Suez canal. We were baptised by Neptune for crossing the Equator. In the evenings whilst our parents were watching the films on the big screen we would watch them from behinds the screen and make it back to the cabins before they did. They never found out we did this. We were not allowed off at the Suez canal as they said it was too dangerous for children but parents could go ashore. Which our parents did, we were left on board the ship on our own, ( this would not be allowed in today's terms but was acceptable then) we would ask the Italian waiters for fruit as it was short supply on the land and swap for dolls and other goods they were selling, quite the enturperner we were. We arrived in Melbourne as my parents were fed up with the ship by then and made our home there. My father said Australia was not for Us and we returned two weeks before the two years was up. This meant he had to pay the fares there and back because we never stayed the two years. He had managed to find a cancellation on the Sitmar Fairsea so we took the booking. Unfortunately for us one of the ships engines was not working properly so it took us six weeks to get back. For us as young girls aged eight and nine this was the best holiday we ever had. No school and lots of fun. Only wish they had stayed longer and I had dual citizenship as I have been back with my husband several times and love Australia.

Departed Southampton late June 1970 on the Fairstar. Arrived Fremantle 28th July, thence Melbourne 2nd August and then Sydney 4th August 1970...Perfect voyage and still living in Sydney 51 years on and loving it...

In response to post by PAMELA MAY WALL... written on Thu, 2020-12-24 12:53 Hi Pamela, I was just trying (unsuccessfully so far) to find the exact dates the Fairstar sailed from Sydney to Perth then to England in March 1973. I came across your post about your trip in March 1972 where you met your husband (I tried to respond directly to you but reCAPTCHA wouldn't let me). Your story hit a cord for me as sometime in March 73 as a 19 year old, I boarded in Perth and within a week I also met my future (and present) husband. I often think, after nearly 50 years together, how lucky we both were to be on the Fairstar that year!! Do you live in Australia? I live in Sydney. I will continue to see if I can find exact sailing dates, please reply if anyone knows. Thank you for your story. Keep safe.

In 1976, my family drove from Darwin to Brisbane, via Alice Springs, to join the Fairstar for a one month South Pacific cruise. We went up the coast to the Whitsundays then out to Port Vila in New Hebrides, Noumea in New Caledonia, Lautoka and Suva in Fiji and Auckland in New Zealand. I ended up in the ships hospital, with travel sickness, before we landed in Port Vila so I was only well enough to go onto the wharf quickly just before we left the port. When we got to Fiji, the Indian taxi driver wanted to marry me off to his son (I was 12). In Auckland, we drove to visit a friend in Rotorua and then because, again, I had travel sickness, my family went to visit the buried village whilst I stayed on our friends lounge with a bucket for company. When school was out I was mesmerised by the number of children that came home. They had a plaque on the wall congratulating them on 20 children. WOW. We travelled back to Brisbane via Sydney. We had bought a side table that was cut diagonally from a tree, had the Fijian Islands painted on it and still had the bark around the edge, Customs said they would have to keep it for 6 weeks but when we gave our address as Darwin they just let us take it. Who knew 15 years later I would meet my husband, who also had sailed on the Fairstar, although he travelled from Southampton to Brisbane via Fremantle and Melbourne, in 1965. the arrival date that we know is Friday 13th August 1965 but his mum (who is 93years old) cant remember if that was when they hit Fremantle or Brisbane'. I found this page trying to find an answer for her if anyone might know.

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I turned 11yrs old on the Fairstar to Australia in 1968. A recent question was what date did we arrive in Sydney. Not sure. Thinking August 4th. It was either late July or Early August. Would you believe this was a Centrelink question.

I arrived in Australia, from England in August 1968 on the Fairstar. Are there any records of the arrival date in Sydney.

I'm trying to find out the route the Fairstar took from Southampton 9th May 1965 to Melbourne. I was only 5, but remember Port Said and Tahiti in particular. The Jungle room on board had special memories

I sailed on the fairsea 1963 with my parents David and iris lewis and brother David. We sailed from Southampton to freemantal. I would love to know if there is any photos or any one who remembers the ship. My sister was born in Australia and was Christiand coming home in1966. If anyone can help please email me carollewis.lewis@googlemail.com

Sailed from Sydney with my husband on a 5 day cruise to Lord Howe Island in 1965 the year Chichester sailed from Australia to England at the same time. A force 6 wind forced the Fairstar to turn around in the night and return to just off Terrigal where we remained until returning to Sydney at the end of 5 days. Our Video shows pool almost emptied and closed due to rocking but water was still sloshing up the sides. Could not go out on deck so stayed in cabin. It was my first and last cruise and cost $100 pp.

My family came out from England on the Fairstar leaving in February 1965 and arriving March 25 1965. I was 8 yrs old and can remember the trip. I have copies of both Mum and Dad's diary of the trip - which brings some memories to the surface , and also highlights what an adventure it must have been to pack up all belongings into a few cases and chests and go off to the other end of the world with four young children in tow. Hard to imagine !