Ashley V King

Ship name / Flight number: BA

Arrival date: 1969

I left England because of my alcoholic father, the need to get away from England’s terrible weather, and to seek better opportunities elsewhere.

The flight was long and very tiring, and we stopped at many places.

When we arrived in Mascot, we were taken to a villa where the manager/warden told us to dump our bags and go for a walk! We were dog-tired and just wanted to go to bed! We returned at the evening mealtime.

During the next few days, we were given job opportunities to go to.

I worked for the Bank of New South Wales in Manly, and they reinforced my desire to travel as they made me a Travelling Teller. Every Monday I would turn up to the bank on the Corso in Manly, and the accountant would send me off to various branches where they were short-staffed. My favourite places were Palm Beach and Avalon, as we had access to the beach after work!

The bank manager called me into the office one day and said that I had not had a holiday for three years and needed to take one. I asked for the cash instead, and he said no—you have to take a break. I asked, "Where should I go to?" and he replied, “I have always wanted to go to New Zealand.”

So I booked a ticket on the MV Fairstar and sailed to Auckland. I did not come back for 35 years! One of the first things I was asked when I got to the Bank of NSW in Christchurch was, “Would you like to join the bank here?”

I ended up working for a strawberry farm in Waimate, and then got sent to Nelson and worked in the apple and pear industry on an orchard. I did this for three seasons and then travelled around the South Island doing odd jobs in the off-season.

I ended up living in Nelson and working for a printing company, where I met Russell Matthews, who was General Manager of the Nelson Hotel. One day, he asked if I knew anyone prepared to work on New Year’s Eve. I said yes—I would—and he recommended that I bring a towel and a spare shirt to go home in.

And that was the start of my hospitality profession...

I went to Christchurch Polytech and took my chef’s papers, then started travelling around New Zealand working as a temp chef, and later in Australia. Since then, I have worked in Russia, Moldova, Japan, England, Indonesia, and more recently in Timor!

Australia was always calling me back, and I have enjoyed working as a temporary chef all over the country. The Northern Territory is my first choice because of the distances you can travel, the people, the countryside, and the nature.

I try not to have any regrets in life, but if I am really honest, I wish I had come out to Australia when I was 16 and worked on the farms and in the countryside. However, I was frightened of the snakes and spiders.

I did not come across a snake until I was driving a road train in north-western WA!

More recently, the family I work for in Jakarta has involved me in charity work in Timor, which I really enjoyed. It was especially fun working with the local people.