Crafting of an Australian Citizenship Quilt NSW Contributions

Lemin, Jean
Cooranbong NSW
“Lamingtons”
The artist and her husband, both nurses, migrated to
Australia from the United Kingdom in 1978 with their
two sons. The artist had worked in Ethiopia for four
years in the 1950s before her marriage, and returned
for a further period as a missionary nurse with her
husband after their marriage.
“My husband tells the story that we came to Australia
because of Lamingtons. It goes like this:
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“We were living in Liverpool, England, and we were
invited to a doctor’s house for tea one Sunday
afternoon in 1975. The couple were both Australian
doctors and had children about the same age as ours.
Part of the tea included these delicious chocolate and
coconut covered sponge-like cakes. [My husband]
asked what they were and our hostess was surprised
that we did not know they were Lamingtons. ‘Well’, he
said, ‘I will come to tea every Sunday for these.’ ‘No
you won’t,’ she said. ‘You will have to come to
Australia before you get these again.’ Three years
later we were in Australia and we just love it and our
sons think it was the best thing we ever did for them.
And yes, our hostess in Liverpool did give us
Lamingtons when we visited them in Sydney after we
had migrated to Australia.”
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Lever, Leonie
Keiraville NSW
The artist was born in Wollongong where she works as
a Geography teacher.
“Wollongong has become a very multicultural city due
to many migrant coming to Australia to work in the
steelworks at Port Kembla… I have studied and
travelled to many countries around the world but I think
Australia is still the best place in the world to live.”
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