And after that, from England, I took a train back to Austria, and while I was visiting my cousin in Mannheim, that's where I met your mum, my wife I mean, my first wife. And talking in that things, in that Fas, that was a place where you can get a drink and a meal, and have a dance. And I took her, and she says she has a sister in Australia, so one word led to another one, and so, her sister always wanted her to come out, and I said, this might not be a bad idea, so, I was there for a while with her, and then she came down to Austria with me, once, and met my sister and everything, and we decided to go back, together. So, I told the Australian authorities that I want to get, you know, my girlfriend with me, maybe <?> my wife. And they said, "well, that will probably take another three or four months before we may be able to arrange it, so she can be on the same boat. That was alright, so I thought we've got plenty of time, there was no rush. I can go back to Austria, and stay there, and we'll sort of set it up, to come back to Australia.

The next day I get a bloody telegram. And they said, 'You're transport is ready, with your girlfriend, in three weeks!" Oh girl, I tell you what, in three weeks you're leaving from Bremenhaven, from Germany. So it was rush, rush, rush, everything. She had to sell everything, and pack up. And I did. And anyhow, we met in <?>, and from there on. We went to North Germany. We didn't have time to marry, to get married even here. So, I had my ship already booked. And she was, like, on an immigration scheme. The best part was, where I was, there was eight of us, eight of us young Germans in a cabin on the bottom, and I don't know how much I paid, some number of pounds, and she had a single cabin on the top deck!

Anyhow, so, we came back to Australia, just before Christmas. And, so, we took it from there. Tante Blanca was at the wharf to meet us, and she said, Maria's going to come, with her, to Berridale. And I would be staying in Sydney for a while, and see, so she can settle down a little bit in Berridale, maybe for a few months or so, before we, sort of, set up everything. And you can imagine, when she came to Berridale, <chuckle> she couldn't take it! So she was back in Sydney after four days. And I didn't even have an accommodation, I thought she was going to be much longer, I didn't rush.

But anyhow, I managed to get accommodation in Kingsford, Anzac Parade. We had to set it up to get married as well. So Tante Blanka, and Uncle Frank, they came down, and the best man, Archie Hunt, that bloke who sold my bike, and his wife. And we got married in Kingston. And had a reception down in, what's the name of that arcade, was a big Czechoslovakian hotel, and we had it up there in that hotel. And in, what's the name of that alley… So, that was it! And we took it from there.

And we stayed in Kingsford, we lived there. And Maria wanted to have a baby because she felt really lonely, and bored. Anyhow, it sort of worked out straight away. She got pregnant, and then Blanca wrote us, and told Maria, "while you're pregnant, why don't you come up to Berridale and stay with me until you have the baby, and you can take it from there. And Michael…", and I can work up on the Snowy Mountains scheme. And so we decided to pack up, and go to Berridale, yes. And so that was it.