Hello Brisbane

We take off from Melbourne and I hear over the speakers that we're heading for Sydney. Oh, well, Sydney is supposed to be a nice place too. I'm sure we can make a life in Sydney. An hour later we land in Sydney where we are once again ushered into a waiting area at another gate, marked Brisbane. Now we know, we are going to live in Brisbane, which is just as well as Fred Pieren is expecting us in Brisbane.  

TAA flight from Melbourne to Brisbane via Sydney

The TAA flight takes another hour and finally we land at Eagle Farm in Brisbane. We’re on the ground and happy looking forward to a proper bed for a good kip. It’s ten o’clock at night when we enter the airport lounge and we’re being met by Shelley and Sue Pieren. Shelly is Fred’s wife and Sue his sister. They apologise for Fred not being at the airport but he had to go to an Army camp for a week.

We’re driving through Queen Street and there is no traffic and very few people walking in the street. I think we are in a Ghost town, where is everybody? Sue explains, Queenslanders go to bed early on Sunday nights. I ask if we can go some place for coffee. Nothing open this time of night on a Sunday. I’m beginning to feel bad about this place. Where on earth have we come to?

The girls take us to the Canberra Hotel in Ann Street in the city. We’re told The Canberra Hotel is alcohol-free run by the Temperance Society. Great No Beer. After the girls check us into our rooms there is only one thing to do, have a big sleep. Sue tells us to go next morning to McDonell and East in George Street to the Cafeteria, which is run by a Swiss called Charlie Tschudin.