Do you Celebrate Australia Day?

I know there’s a whole lot of controversy around Australia Day and the celebrations that are held. Culturally most Australians celebrate Australia Day as the day Australia was founded. In contrast, Aboriginal people mourn their history and call it ‘Invasion Day’. I’m not about to get into the discussion around this but wanted to share my story of what Australia means to me.

When I was just one year old, my father accepted a job in Australia. I was born in the UK, in Bath actually and my mother didn’t really get a choice in the decision. In October 1966 we arrived in Melbourne aboard the Fairstar as ten pound Poms! We spent a few weeks at the Migrant Centre in Springvale before we found a rental property in Brighton. The job that Dad came for was no longer there but he was lucky enough to find an alternative position as a Mechanical Engineer with another company. On the Fairstar my dad was on the level that was for men only and mum, her mum and my brother and I were in a cabin with another family on the family deck. It was not much fun according to my mum. Everyone got quite seasick and not long after we arrived in Australia, Mum found out that her mother had a brain tumour. Not a very good start to a new life abroad.

I love Australia. I love everything about it. I love the culture, the land, the sea, the freedoms we have, the size of the country and the diversity of its landscape. I love the people, the diversity of our cultures and the way we all embrace each others’ food and customs, and live side by side in relative harmony.

I am so grateful that my father chose to bring us to Australia – I became an Australian citizen when I was 18 years old and whilst I am proudly British, having returned to the UK in my 20s to see where I was born and where my parents and relatives lived, I wouldn’t live anywhere else. I think my life here is a combination of Australian and British traditions and love that we can pass that down to our children to share with theirs in years to come.

Migrants coming to Australia post war have arrived with very little other than a handful of belongings – the Italians who came to build the Snowy Mountain scheme, the Cambodian and Vietnamese who fled their countries and were known as the boat people who set up restaurants in Collingwood and Fitzroy, the tailors, the milliners, there are so many amazing stories of success, resilience and acceptance in our cities.

All of these people including my parents made a new life for themselves in Australia, arriving with little possessions but lots of hope, determination and a willingness to work hard. In today’s climate there are still opportunities for us to run small businesses and make a successful life.

I encourage you to have a go, take a chance and strive hard for a better life for you and your family. Here are some ideas of side hustles that could build into successful businesses.

1. Take in baskets of ironing – who has time to iron? I don’t and I used to have an ironing lady and it was amazing. Now we only iron when we really need to. But, if you are at home and could do a few baskets a week, why not get some extra income.
2. Commercial cleaning – this is a great way to bring in extra income after hours. Most offices can be cleaned in times that suit you once the workers have finished for the day and from experience, I know how hard it is to get good reliable staff in this area of work.
3. If you are creative, set up an Etsy store and sell your crafty ideas on line. I have a few girlfriends that run really successful stores, selling everything from art to teatowels to eye pillows. It is a great way of selling digital products too.
4. Become a consultant for someone like Tupperware, Thermomix, Arbonne and build you business in hours that suit you. I know that they do the rounds quite frequently but these companies have stood the test of time with great products and a fantastic reputation and it’s also a great way to meet people and have fun.
5. Become a VA – that’s virtual assistant. There’s a VA agency called “A Clayton’s Secretary” that you can join and receive job leads but being a VA is a great option if you are versed in secretarial and bookkeeping skills and want a job that you can work your own hours and choose your own clients. I did this for years when my children were babies, working while they slept. I had some great jobs like stuffing envelopes for a sales business, to copytyping a racecourse history book to translating German to English brochures for a client in England.

Whatever you do, celebrate who you are and have a go at life. Australia is most definitely a land of hope and opportunity where anyone can do anything that they really want to do, if they just set their mind to it.