The earliest folk I can remember migrating to Australia were the COOK Family, they left while we were in Winton Primary School Ardrossan - perhaps around 1950-51. They would have been about 6 or 7 years old and may have been twins. I have a feeling they lived in nearby Winton Street. The boy was George and the girl was Marjory. I can still see Marjory with an Elastoplast over one of the lenses on her glasses - both were very fair and had curly hair.

George & Marjory came back to Ardrossan for a holiday from Australia when they were teenagers, George ran around with us during that period. I've no idea what part of Australia they lived in.

Hugh McCallum

The first family I knew to emigrate was my Aunt and Uncle Jim Thom and Nettie Thom ( Nee Ferguson.) plus my threee cousins John, George and young Jimmy Thom. They emigrated from Kilwinning  in 1955/6 where they had a house down the road from the pipe-works ( me and my cousins' playground!) They went to Melbourne and returned to Kilwinning in 1958-My Uncle Jimmy saying that " B...y Australia was only good for drying washing!" They bought a house on the Garnock river and within 14 months were back in Melbourne still complaining. However they lived there for the rest of their lives. Jimmy Thom died in Melbourne about 5/6 years ago and Nettie about 2/3. Cousin John Thom lives in Brisbane, George Thom outside of Sydney and Young Jim Thom is still in Melbourne.
I followed them out in 1961 and lived with My Aunt and Uncle for about a year then moved on to Sydney/Tasmania and came to New Zealand on a three month working holiday, met this Woman and stayed here ever since!!

Another Aunt Jean (nee Ferguson) and Jim Jenkins emigrated around about the same time to Brisbane. It would appear that we were great " emigrators!"

All the best tae ye a'
John

When i was at primary school my best friend Anne McKenzie emigrated with her family to Tasmania.  They lived in Clark Place Saltcoats.  I clearly remember being very upset at the idea the were going to the other side of the world.  I didn't know where Tasmania was but to me (aged about 6) it even sounded strange.  I've often wondered if she liked it and what became of her.  Shortly after that my cousins emigrated to California.  They came back to visit several years later and it was very strange - they had strange accents and even looked different!  I also remember overhearing my mum and dad discussing emigrating to Canada and O was sooo scared.  I didn't want to leave and go so far away, but in the end we didn't and i was so relieved.
Penni C

Hi  All,
        I nearly emigrated to N.Z in 63. my first love & I had tickets for after our wedding, but tragically he died. so that put paid to that, I would have loved to go I think we    would have eventually went to Australia. I often wonder what life could have been like??
Still I like to hear other peoples stories. Hugh you were the first I heard of cause they made a big show when folk emigrated, cause you all were going to the end of the world (as we thought) so it was pretty exiting to us young things??. I had an uncle who travelled the world with the R/N & every time he came home he would tell us lovely stories.
bye Liz Scott.

Hi threetowners my sister and her husband emigrated to Canada in the 70's can remember seeing them off on the plane the oldest child was about 8 the youngest about three was just brought home to me how time fly's when i spoke with her on the phone recently when she said to me her grandchild's 10th birthday was coming up i said to her what god I remember u emigrating just like it was yesterday and your eldest child was at that time about 8 I just could not believe where all the years went. As for my self I was brought up in New England road and can remember about half of that street emigrating within the space of a year we were almost gone as well were all packed and everything with a week to go before we were due to emigrate and my mum took cold feet so we stayed in good ol bonnie Scotland i often wonder how things might have turned out had we gone but no point dwelling in the past i am quite happy and have had a good life here in Scotland. I do wonder what became of all our neighbours who emigrated though.
jim barr (blakjak50)

Hi Penni,
Oddly enough I was the first person they met when they landed in Melbourne - even before they got off the plane. That would have been in  1971. I was on duty and had boarded the aircraft at the back as the passenger left from the front. Anyhoo I heard this voice from one of the passengers saying Bobby McCallum is that you. It was the voice of Jim McKenzie. I later sat and had a coffee with the family before they boarded their on-going flight to Tasmania. I think they eventually settled in West Australia. Our fathers had worked together in Ardrossan Gas Works. Small world indeed!

Hugh McCallum

One half of my family emigrated to Canada  just after the coronation in 1953, My mothers' only brother John Brodie along with his wife Peggy and three daughters, Margaret, Eleanor and Iris and their only son Ian moved to Toronto, Scarborough Ontario to be exact. Ian had his first birthday on the boat. They used to live in Sharphill Road, Saltcoats. I have been several times to visit them the last time being n May 2000. Uncle John passed away the same time as my mother Helen Brodie Young, in October 1994 but Aunt Peggy is still going strong at nearly 92 years of age.
David Young.

Hello listers:
I've mentioned this several times on the list "..... my dad was born in Ardrossan in 1907....blah blah blah..."   Well he DIDN'T emigrate, but all of his older siblings (except one brother and one sister) DID emigrate to Canada.  My father's name was Philip Gray, the youngest of eleven (although I've only managed to trace 10). He comes from a long line of John Gray's and Robert Gray's between Ardrossan and Kilwinning, and I am working on the family research. 

No-one in the three towns would know of the family, because they moved to Cathcart just before WW1, and my grandmother (maiden name Mary Spence, also from Ardrossan - or Saltcoats) is buried at Cathcart.  However, my dad's eldest brother, another John Gray, was a Steward on one of the shipping lines (I don't remember which one) and he stayed in Scotland, as well as  another sister Jean, and my dad .  However Kate, Jenny, Bob, Agnes and Mary all emigrated to Canada as single, young adults. 

I also emigrated to Canada  (but from Glasgow) in 1966, and even so,  I only ever met just one brother of my dad, my Uncle Bob, (and that was when he came home for a visit when I was wee) and of course my Aunt Jean who stayed in Scotland.  I never met any of the others siblings.  In fact I have only met a couple of my Canadian cousins.  However, that will hopefully be remedied by the end of next month because I am making a trip to Ontario for the sole purpose of meeting the rest of my cousins and their extended families.  My father was fortunate to reunite with his siblings when he came to Canada for my wedding in 1968, except for his sister Kate who had died only a month before dad's trip.  He had been only 3 yrs old when she emigrated.  Nowadays its nothing to just "hop on a plane", but when I was wee  it was a real big deal.  I wish my Dad's family had been able to stay in Ardrossan and the I had been fortunate to have grown up there instead of in Glasgow, but unfortunately you had to move to where the work was.  Maybe if they HAD stayed in Ardrossan I'd never have existed - so just as well they moved !!
Anyhooooo - I LOVE this 3towners site - next best thing to being there!
Best Regards,
Phyllis, Canada

Hi all,I didn't even think to write that we migrated over here nearly thirty years ago!! We arrived with very little. (Haven't got much more now!). We arrived with two kids aged 2 and 6. I have to say, we have never looked back. The kids have a different lifestyle and we have had a ball along theway. We love this sun burnt country...........etc. We still miss the Three towns but wouldn't swap what we have for anything. It really is a great country. We have had our ups and downs, but nothing keeps us down for long.

That has to be our heritage and the way we were brought up in the three towns. We came out on 10 pound plan. Best money we ever spent. We have been back to the Threetowners a few times and it helps to keep in touch with friends. Nothing can replace family and friends. You make new ones but nothing ever replaces the ones you love. So all you yins over there in Saltcoats and Ardrossan, just treasure what you have and away and get me a wee brandy and dry and I'll toast your
health. Wha's like us!!!!!  Sally O xxx