Raj days
downunder: voices from Anglo India to New Zealand. Dorothy
McMenamin. Stories derived from oral history interviews by the author.
Foreword by Megan
Hutching, past president of, National Oral History Association of New Zealand.
“The stories in this book together make a mosaic illustrating the experiences
of New Zealanders from Anglo India”.
The first story is by and
about Wilfred Ainslie {Bill} Barlow from Calcutta.
“Both sets of grandparents
were Anglo Indians and both his parents were born in Calcutta. Both parents
died young in their 50s. He was an only child brought up by an Ayah and went to
boarding school in Kurseong, Darjeeling 6000 ft. up in the Himalayas; a
government run fee paying school. For 9 months of the year he was at school and
on holidays he spent all is time with the neighbour who he called “Aunty” and
her 3 kids who were also Anglo Indian.
Later he trained as an
engineer apprentice in Calcutta, a course called BOAT (Board of Apprentices
Training). After passing this course he
went and worked for Kharagpur Railways, it was while he was there that
Pre-Partition or Indian Independence occurred across India. The first he knew
about it was when he and three mates got a few days off they hopped a train to
Calcutta getting off at Howrah Station, a normally busy, busy station… but when
they arrived it was deserted and on walking back towards home they discovered
there was no traffic on the roads either, a truly frightening experience for
them.
He then went to England
to do his Engineering ticket, he found he fitted in well as he had been brought
up the British way. On returning to India he ended up working for a
steam-shipping company and this was his introduction to other steam-ship
companies from around the world. He saw an advert for a job in NZ for the Union
Steamship Co. applied and was accepted. He and his wife arrived in NZ in 1971
and have lived here ever since.
You can read this and
other interesting stories of some 27 other Anglo Indians from all regions of
India in this book, borrowable from New Zealand Collection on the 2nd
Floor or Rotorua District Library. At 993.004914z RAJ
