CASTEL FELICE

13th May 1968 was the date I boarded the Castel Felice in Southampton with my parents Harry & Irene Breeze to emigrate on the £10 passage to Australia. The Suez was no longer open so we sailed via South Africa to Perth, Adelaide and our disembarkation was Melbourne. The ship then continued to Sydney. I was 18 at the time. My parents both had jobs to go to so they were very fortunate. They were employed by Cleckheaton Ltd in Shepparton, Victoria, and remained in Shepparton until they passed away in 1967 and 2013 respectively. We all enjoyed our trip on the Castel Felice and made many friends on board. It was a great adventure, the crew were wonderful, always happy, food was excellent. Despite being a long trip, all my memories are happy ones. I am disappointed that I did not make the effort to keep in touch with other passengers that I met on board as I believe some of their stories about their lives in Australia would have been great to hear.

13th May 1968 was the date I boarded the Castel Felice in Southampton with my parents Harry & Irene Breeze to emigrate on the £10 passage to Australia. The Suez was no longer open so we sailed via South Africa to Perth, Adelaide and our disembarkation was Melbourne. The ship then continued to Sydney. I was 18 at the time. My parents both had jobs to go to so they were very fortunate. They were employed by Cleckheaton Ltd in Shepparton, Victoria, and remained in Shepparton until they passed away in 1991 and 2013 respectively. We all enjoyed our trip on the Castel Felice and made many friends on board. It was a great adventure, the crew were wonderful, always happy, food was excellent. Despite being a long trip, all my memories are happy ones. I am disappointed that I did not make the effort to keep in touch with other passengers that I met on board as I believe some of their stories about their lives in Australia would have been great to hear.

My mum travelled on the Castel Felice in June 1967 and arrived in W Australia on the 5th August. I was looking for the passenger and crew list. Any information would be greatly appreciated

Traveled on the Castel Felice from Bremer Haven Germany, arrived in Quebec Canada on May 16 1957. Had very heavy Storms, hard crossing. The Ship was good, the Crew great, I will always remember. This was my first time an the water. Herbert Kurrle, if shipmates are still around ,like to hear from you

Boat train from Birmingham uk to Southampton to bored this ship September 1964 to go to Adelaide. I had my 12th birthday on this boat. We were The Wootten family. Me my sister Julia and mom Margy and dad Reginald. £10 poms we were called. It was the best experience of my whole life. The storm on The bay of biscay was so bad, people with broken arms and legs and sick every where. Didn’t bother as I quite enjoyed the experience. After that we had nice sunny weather to go down the Suez Canal and to stop at Aden. The port was busy with sellers trying to sell hand made leather travel bags with carvings and coloured paintings on them which they tied to ropes and threw them up to the decks, pulling them up and down for us to look at. Weirdest thing I ever saw. When we sailed across the international date line we all dressed up to celebrate king Neptune and we got wet with soap suds and had the best fun. We used to mess about in the pop in where the teenagers went and listened to records. I remember Pretty women... Roy Orbison was on all the time and the Beatles. There was a school room too but I wasn’t interested and didn’t pay attention. Ha ha. Usual for me . We met some lovely people on this voyage. We stopped at Fremantle and disembarked for the day and found a cafe and had beans on toast with HP sauce made in Birmingham. So nice after all that Italian food we had on the ship. We arrived in Adelaide and settled in Para Hills where we lived for 4 years in a new property. Our mom was not adapting to the heat and missed her family. And so we eventually left in October 1968 on The Australis bound for Southampton via New Zealand. Fiji. Acapulco. Up the Panama Canal on to Miami. I was so sorry to leave Australia as I loved the life there and the memories of my time on this ship were so good. Best times of my life. Been back for a holiday in 2005 and still didn’t want to leave.

Left Southampton on 23Dec.1965 arrived Sydney Jan 24th 1966. I turned 18 on the day we docked in Melbourne. Made friends with a lot of guys from the Big Brother Movement. We had the roughest crossing of the Bay of Biscay with only 24 of us dining for Christmas dinner. One day there was a loud bang when the ship came out of the water and the propellers had no resistance. It was like we balanced on top of a wave. Anyone on that migrant list feel free to reply to this story. Like to know where you all are now.

My father embarked in Cuxhaven and arrived with the Castel Felice in Fremantle on 2.9.1960. Like Mr. Sanders, he very vividly remembered the trip through the Suez Canal and still keeps the leather wrapper he bought there. During the last years he started writing about his the immigration, the days (weeks...) on board the Castel Felice and his first years in Australia. Unfortunately, he was not given the time to finish the story of his memories. It would be interesting to read more stories from passengers who made their way from Europe to Australia in 1960.

We left Southampton on a foggy morning on the Castel Felice bound for Perth Aus. My parents, sister and I were emigrating to Australia for a different life. Loved it however my parents decided to return in 1966 and off we went again. We came back in August 1966 on the Fairsky, a sister ship to the Castel Felice. Great times.

As a family of four, my Father, Mother and myself an almost 7yr old boy and my 5yr old brother, left England for New Zealand in early 1956 as the eponymous '£10 POM's'. Boarding the New Zealand Shipping Line ship Ruahine at Tilbury docks, we sailed down through the Panama Canal and onward to Wellington. After the best part of 4 years in New Zealand my parents decided to return back to England. We boarded the Castel Felice in July 1959 at Auckland and headed for home. On the way the ship called in at Singapore, Colombo, Aden then through the Suez Canal to Port Said and Naples finally arriving at Southampton in September 1959. By now my family had increased to include my 3yr old Kiwi sister. As I remember the only other younger children on board were 3 young boys of similar age to my brother and myself, but there may have been more. Two of the young boys got off at Colombo. It was quite an adventure, 6 weeks at sea on board ship. I recall my father taking my brother and myself for on shore visits, whilst my mother stayed on board with my sister. I will never forget the different cultures and sights experienced.

We left southhampton March 1968. traveled on the Castel Felice. to las palmas , cape Town. perth then Melbourne were I still am. I was 13. remember going across the equator, was as sick as a dog for a couple of weeks. after that im all good with seasickness. travel sickness thing. my Mum, step father and sisther went back to the uk after 20 years .

My father Istvan Szabo immigrated to Australia on 25th January 1957 as a Hungarian refugee. He was only 21 years old and had no family or friends waiting for him in Australia. After the Hungarian Revolution he fled to Austria and was placed in a Displaced Persons camp called Camp Roeder in Salzburg. He traveled from Austria to Port Melbourne, Australia on the Castel Felice.

1955 from Montreal - student ship. Return to New York. Broke down in Azores. Anyone remember? I was with a student group from Birmingham, AL/

My late mother, maiden name GLORIA BAYLISS sailed from Southampton to Melbourne sailed on the Castel Felice in February 1964. Onboard she met a handsome Italian steward who I believe was called Gabriel Scordamaglia. As a result my Mum quickly found herself in a new country, alone and pregnant! Catholic nuns sent her to a home in Sydney where she gave birth to a baby boy but was forced to give him up for adoption. I came along 6 yrs later and spent over 20 years searching for my brother, sadly however when I traced him I also discovered he had died 5 years earlier of AIDS at the age of just 37 - my Mums heart was broken for a second time and she said "I've lost my baby all over again". I am now writing a book about their story, but I would love to hear from anyone who possibly shared that voyage or knew of my brothers father. terrishanks1970@gmail.com

Left Adelaide Sept 1967 for Southampton. Journey via Panama took 6 weeks. Great jukebox in the stern, Beatles, Stones, Kinks and my favourite What Becomes of the Broken hearted by Jimmy Ruffin. At destination, a young stowaway managed to disembark without a problem. Great memories.