Day Dream Believers

On 1st February 1963, Eileen and her family migrated from England to Australia. Leaving behind a close knit family and many treasured memories. They sailed on a ship to a land of blue skies, sunshine and vast horizons.

In `Day Dream Believers’ we follow Eileen and her families journey from the migrant town of Elizabeth West to the top end of Australia. Eileen comes from an Irish, Catholic background. Their family life in Elizabeth West in Adelaide is described in loving detail. It’s the era of the hoola hoop, the yo-yo, skipping ropes, marbles, and go-karts.

Her Dad would say,

‘The Irish are all born to wonder, they are poets and dreamers……..’

Forever searching for a better life and a place to belong, they leave Elizabeth West to live in Darwin.

‘The breeze made its way through the louvres, but inside the house the air was still and warm. I could hear the clicking sound of a gecko and watched as it scurried up along the wall. The streetlight made patterns on the louvres. I could hear a few voices, the stragglers, keeping their beers company as the night drifted by.’

We see the family surrounded by the culture of the time, pop songs, fashions, TV shows, and eventually Germaine Greer who ‘invited me to “taste my own menstrual blood.” It took guts, but when I did, I tasted power. It was not a burden.

And now, with blood dripping from my fingers, I smear the words:

“You cannot defeat me.” ’

The 1970`s was the dawning of a new era, where the collective voices of many stood in defiance against the social norms of the day.

Eileen`s thoughtfully crafted memoir with it`s poignant insights of family life, simmering in the background of these ever changing turbulent times.

Ruth Guice

Voice