Anthony (Tony) Thomas Rathbone

Tony Rathbone, 1957.

Ship name/flight number: SS Fairsea

Arrival Date: 26/10/1957

I was born in Wolverhampton Hospital, in Pellsall which is near Birmingham, England, on 14 February 1941. My sister was born 18 months after me, and then a brother followed 14 years later.

My dad worked for the Post-Master General’s Department and spent six years fighting in World War II as a gunner. My mum worked as a conductor on the buses. Unfortunately, my dad died from emphysema when he was only 65 years old – cigarettes were part of the pay packet in WWII. My dad said that if I ever wanted to try smoking, I should come and see him and not sneak off with the boys behind the toilets.  He was the best father you could ever have. Dad was a kind sort of person – he didn’t argue or swear.

I was an average student at school and left when I was 14 years old. I joined local youth clubs such as scouts and sea cadets where I learned to shoot and swim. I also joined a local cycling club and we would go away for weekends, staying to youth hostels – I like a bit of adventure and exploring new places. It was all part of my education.

After finishing school, I worked in a plant nursery and as a motor mechanic. I was going to apply to join one of the forces but dad always wanted to come out to Australia, so he encouraged me to apply to the BBM.

I thought I’d have more adventures in Australia, and more opportunities to own a farm or a business. My goal was to set myself up financially within five years of emigrating, and then sponsor my parents and siblings to come to Australia.

When I was 16 years old, I sailed on the S.S. Fairsea from Southampton. Ray Hill looked after us on the boat and I kept in touch with him for quite a number of years after our voyage. There were 6 to 8 boys in a cabin. Fortunately, I didn’t suffer from seasickness and thought the five-week trip was a grand adventure.

Sitting on the dock in my formal wear, waiting to re-board the SS Fairsea, after exploring Melbourne for the day.

When we berthed in Sydney on 26 October, 1957, we were taken straight to the Calmsley Hills Training farm. I spent six weeks there and I remember helping to fight bushfires on the hills around the farm.

I was sent to work on “Glen Cluen”, a farm owned by Mr Kendall in Finley. I spent 12 months there, but I really wasn’t suited to it. I don’t know how anyone can be comfortable on a horse. I soon bought a motorbike so I could get around and have some independence.

If I felt a twinge of homesickness, I would go to the post office and ring home. Back then, a 3-minute telephone conversation cost a week’s wages.

After my year on the farm, I returned to Sydney and lived around Burwood, Strathfield and Ashfield. I worked in the city for Johnno Baker, selling knives, and then I got a job with Mr Buckley importing religious goods for the Catholic Church (rosary beads, statues, candles, etc.). That was my lucky break as I stayed with the company, learning how to run a small business, until I was promoted to company director.

From there, I felt confident enough to set up my own business. I opened a gift shop in Gosford in the Imperial Centre and then ran a corner store in Wyoming for a number of years. My parents came to visit in the early 1970s and then went back to England so they could sell up and emigrate. Dad was about 60 years old then, so he had his final years in Australia. My sister and her husband and my brother had emigrated before my parents. 

Phil, my younger brother on the left, and a friend on the right who were helping me to set up our donut and coffee shop in Parramatta. I did all the brickwork myself.

After the corner store, I opened a donut and coffee shop in the Westfield Shopping Centre in Parramatta. My brother and sister worked there with me in the mid-1970s.  It was a success, but I decided that I wanted to get out of Sydney, so I sold up and opened a donut shop in Kotara, near Newcastle, called Dinkum Donuts.

My mother is serving a customer at our Dinkum Donuts store in Kotara.

A printed paper bag for our donut-making business

At the same time, I registered the name ‘Donut Kings’ before that became the name of a popular franchise. This was my favourite business.

I could sense that single serve, takeaway ice-creams were the next big thing, so I moved to Brisbane and bought into the Wendy’s ice-cream franchise. That went well, so I decided to return to Newcastle and set up Wendy’s stores down south. I was a finalist in the NSW Small Business Awards in 1989 for my Wendy’s Super Sundae stores. They were all the rage in the 1980s.

I met my future wife, Laurel, at a dance in Lidcombe Town Hall in 1962 when I was 21 years old. After going out together for five years, we got married in 1967. We had three sons in five years, so it was a busy time. One of my sons has taken over one of the businesses I started.

Laurel and I have retired to Belmont on Lake Macquarie, which is about 20 minutes south of Newcastle. We bought a caravan so that we could explore more of the country. We’ve travelled south along the Murray River and north up to Brisbane and Noosa. I’ve never lost my desire to discover and explore new places.

Tony and Laurel, 2022.

Coming to Australia was a great experience. I don’t know how kids today would survive if they had to sail across the world and start a new life in a new country at age 16. There was no internet or mobile phones back in 1957! Even though the climate is so different to Australia, the heat didn’t worry me at all. I’ve never been back to England.