03/06/2026
25 years ago Mum migrated from New Zealand to Australia. It was winter so Mum’s home town was around 3°C (37.4°F) during the day, and then it got cold at night. In Melbourne it was 17°C (62.6°F) and Mum could not stop sweating. She walked down Little Collins Street in jandals (thongs/flip-flops), a t-shirt and three quarter pants, basking in the unaccustomed warmth. People in hats, scarves and huge coats pushed past her muttering “Strewth, it’s cold!”
It didn’t take Mum too long to learn the language and find steady work. Now she has a strong Aussie accent and shivers in temperatures that would have previously seemed very pleasant. Fully acclimatised, but still very reluctant to utter the phrase “fish and chips” because of the years of good-natured teasing she endured 😸
