Sutherland Shire Historical Society
Mindful of the Past
Focused on the Future
ORAL HISTORIES
Erika Springstub
Mindful of the Past
Focused on the Future
ORAL HISTORIES
Erika Springstub
SYNOPSIS
As a young married couple, Erika Springstub and her husband Kurt migrated to Australia from Germany in 1957. Erika recalls her childhood wartime experiences in the ancient town of Buxtehude. After the war she was stunned to learn: ‘For one hour’s work you can buy a whole case of bananas in Australia’. This revelation was decisive in convincing her and Kurt to migrate. Kurt was from East Germany and had refugee status, so they were given a free passage to Australia on the Dutch vessel, the Groote Beer. After a spell at Cronulla Migrant Hostel, they later settled in Miranda.
Oral history interview conducted:
11 August 2016
Interviewer: Pauline Curby
for Telling It As It Was, a Sutherland Shire Council Oral History Program
This four-minute extract of an hour-long interview was compiled by Nicole Curby for Sutherland Shire Historical Society
As a young married couple, Erika Springstub and her husband Kurt migrated to Australia from Germany in 1957. Erika recalls her childhood wartime experiences in the ancient town of Buxtehude. After the war she was stunned to learn: ‘For one hour’s work you can buy a whole case of bananas in Australia’. This revelation was decisive in convincing her and Kurt to migrate. Kurt was from East Germany and had refugee status, so they were given a free passage to Australia on the Dutch vessel, the Groote Beer. After a spell at Cronulla Migrant Hostel, they later settled in Miranda.
Oral history interview conducted:
11 August 2016
Interviewer: Pauline Curby
for Telling It As It Was, a Sutherland Shire Council Oral History Program
This four-minute extract of an hour-long interview was compiled by Nicole Curby for Sutherland Shire Historical Society