Europe to Australia – The Migrant Ship Anna Salen

On the 25^th of October, 1949, my father-in-law and his parents, Žanis and Lore Zekants, arrived as migrants to Australia. The 3-week journey had been a mix of exhaustion, boredom, anticipation and illness. Originally slated to disembark in Melbourne, the Zekants family and many others were forced to disembark in Freemantle in Western Australia due to a severe outbreak of illness that started weeks before in the crowded and unsanitary migrant holding camp in Naples, Italy. What should have been an exciting start to life in a large Australian city, became a nerve-racking wait at Graylands migrant camp while their 2-year-old son was sent to the hospital with measles and bronchitis. My father-in-law was lucky, he survived. Many of the young ones on board did not, their families now facing a new life in a strange land without their beloved children.

The Ship

Their ship was called the Anna Salen. It had been built as a cargo vessel with the name M.S. Mormacland in 1939 in the US state of Pennsylvania. It was requisitioned and converted into an auxiliary escort aircraft carrier, commissioned into the Royal Navy in November 1941 and renamed the HMS Archer. At the end of the war, in 1945, it was renamed the Empire Lagan and used as a merchant vessel. In 1946, it was sold to a ship owner in Stockholm and refitted as a migrant ship. It would be known as the Anna Salen for the next several years. The Anna Salen made six voyages between Europe and Australia in the years 1949 and 1950:

1) May-1949, Naples to Freemantle, Melbourne & Sydney

2) August-1949, Naples to Freemantle

3) October-1949, Naples to Freemantle & Melbourne

4) December-1949, Naples to Aden (the ship broke down in the Red Sea and its passengers transferred to the SS Skaugum which headed on to Freemantle)

5) June-1950, Bremerhaven to Melbourne

6) December-1950, Bremerhaven to Freemantle

Bagnoli Migrant Camp – Naples, Italy

The Zekants family was on voyage #3. On the 31 of August 1949, Žanis and his small family made their final move in Europe on their way to emigration. They arrived at the Bagnoli Migrant Camp in Naples, Italy. This camp housed up to 10,000 refugees at any one time who were being processed and awaiting a spot on a ship to take them to a new life in countries like Canada, the US, Argentina and Australia. Here is what Žanis had to say in his diary the day they moved there:

“Moved to Bagnoli camp. Spacious, modern buildings and noticeably greater cleanliness [from their previous camp]. Was Mussolini’s youth quarters. Men are separated from women. 104 men live in one room with 2-story beds. Lore is in the same kind of room together with other mothers and a whole heap of children. She feels like she is in a madhouse. I can visit her from 10–14. She cannot visit me. Lore and the boy eat at the Baby kitchen, where I am not let inside. Food is unsatisfactory. Spacious, but expensive canteen. Cinema is good, also good short movies, which change every day.”

After waiting for weeks to get a spot on a ship, this is how he described the camp conditions on the 27^th of September:

“Just now in our little newspaper I read about the striking mortality rate of immigrant children in Australia. Commissions have been formed that strive to find the cause of the unpleasant phenomenon. Mention is made of the tropical heat during the journey, insufficient food on the ship, as well as unsatisfactory conditions in the Australian camps. But there is not a word about the shortcomings in the embarkation camps. For instance, this camp actually deserves the name of a child slaughterhouse. Insufficient and poorly prepared food weakens everyone and especially those who lack means for purchasing extra products. A sensible commission would establish a whole caravan of crimes in this prison.”

Žanis and his wife were very relieved when their name appeared on an upcoming voyage. On the 1^st of October their ship had arrived:

“The unbelievable happened: at lunchtime we got into trucks and drove to the port of Naples. The Anna Salen is already waiting: big and white. Supposedly over 12,000 t. Counts as one of the best ships at IRO’s disposal, but still, it is only a mass transport vessel. Don’t dream of cabins. Men have their own quarters and women have their own rooms. However, there isn’t such a strict visiting restriction as in the Bagnoli camp.

Certain time is needed while getting acquainted with the ship’s layout. Decks, corridors, stairs and small ladders confuse orientation. I sleep at the very bottom (D deck) in the bow of the ship. Lore is one floor higher (C deck) in the stern. Dinner was wonderful.”

The Journey

Reading Žanis’s diary is an interesting and personal insight into what life was like on the ship. What did people do? How did they spend their time and where? What was the general mindset of this mix of European migrants on their way to a place they could hardly imagine?

Žanis describes the sea as calm and bright blue as the ship left port. Many passengers were ‘praying to Neptune’ that they wouldn’t get sick. Žanis wasn’t sure if he would get sick or not. The passengers received ration cards and cigarettes were one of the most popular items to try to procure. Passengers were constantly trying to buy and sell anything they could to get money: shirts, trousers, watches etc. Žanis is able to get a job teaching English on the ship and Lore is hired to teach kindergarten on the voyage.

On the 6^th of October they pass Port Said at the mouth of the Suez Canal. Žanis can see crowds of people on the shore all with fezzes on their heads and buildings in the ‘oriental style’. The were not allowed to leave the ship to explore the city but it sounds like they had a decent time on board that day:

“Food is still very good, but it seems that portions are smaller than in the beginning. This evening we received a small cup of macaroni soup (in broth), a slice of cheese, 2 thin slices of white bread, a tiny bit of butter and tea. Lunch was rich: a piece of braised beef with sauce, a slice of ham, a tiny bit of butter, potatoes (these here are served boiled with the skin on, except at times when they are prepared in salads), compote and tea. For breakfast coffee, bread, a bit of butter, marmalade and sausage. It must be noted that coffee and tea here are the real deal.

This evening a dance on deck. Already the 3rd evening. The music is poor, only the trumpeter is good, but that doesn’t matter, one can dance.”

It took 14 hours to pass through the narrow Suez Canal. On the other side of it, the hot African sun could be felt, dolphins could be seen cavorting in the wake of the ship and the air was still.

“Already a whole week on the water. We are somewhere in the Red Sea. Heat is substantial, although the deck almost along its entire length (except the bow) is under a roof. But there is no wind, so it is sweltering like in a bathhouse. People, especially women, have become nervous. Others are apathetic. Last night an infant died, presumably with meningitis. Early this morning it was committed to the sea. That is supposedly the first case of death on this ship overall. I sleep little and poorly; because of that same heat and not particularly good air. Had I a blanket, I would go on deck to sleep.

But still the difficulties are not over. We’ll see how it goes in the Indian Ocean, when, most likely, half of the passengers will contend with seasickness. Nothing encouraging is foreseen.”

On the 14^th of October, Lore and a Latvian passenger named Tamara Aufmanis had a shared birthday celebration with wine, beer and whiskey. But everyone was either seasick or exhausted and the feeling of the party was ‘not particularly cheerful.’

About halfway through the voyage Žanis writes:

“Can’t properly get rid of headaches. Besides that, yesterday evening I felt something similar to mild seasickness. Spent the night again on deck, at the very stern of the ship. Warm, light breeze, roof of stars overhead, which, it seems, rocks and circles, while the ship only moves up and down. The rocking in the stern is more noticeable, even though the sea seems to be calm. Waves are not high, but very long, and therefore the ship yields to them.

The sea at the stern of the ship at night blazes, it seems, with thousands of silent explosions that flare up in the water, some only for a moment, others last several seconds. Those, I clarified, are created by tiny creatures, which, frightened by the ship’s propeller, set to work their reserve of electricity or phosphorus. During the day, the ship frightens thousands of small flying fish. Some fly several dozen meters and then it seems like small birds are flying low above sea level.

This morning I felt so exhausted that I slept through the whole forenoon. Now better. I don’t think seasickness with such rocking can overcome me, although I was afraid for myself, because I cannot stand carousels, swings and waltzes. However, it turns out that many others are feebler. Also, Lore doesn’t feel very alert, but holds up. Yesterday she was supposedly slightly sick, but, she says, that’s because she had been to the latrine and there saw others vomiting and that smell was awful. The boy is O.K. Had rashes on his neck and face from heat and salt water, but now they look better, because I washed him in the crew washrooms, where there is cool fresh water all day.”

On the 16^th, they passed over the equator. There was a traditional ‘Baptism of Neptune’ ceremony on board as they reached this milestone:

“Likely this morning early or last night we crossed the equator. In the afternoon they arranged Neptune’s baptism. On the dance floor they set up a small pool; Neptune arrived with his retinue, all horribly smeared and accompanied by much noise. And then began the hunt for victims. For a long time I watched and then vanished. Turned out just in time, because me they had searched for. But I had no pleasure in allowing myself to be smeared all over with oil paint and then pushed 3 times under water. At the equator we were greeted by the first rain since we left Naples.”

On the 17^th they pass the migrant ship Skaugum, which was returning to Europe from Sydney. Around this time, the long journey is starting to really wear the passengers down. Many are consumed with boredom and feel as if it will never end.

By the 21^st the end is in sight but conditions on board the Anna Salen have deteriorated:

“The journey is approaching its end. Slowly, but persistently the coast of Australia approaches.

Since yesterday it has become so cool already that sleeping on deck is nothing to get excited about. The last 2 nights we made other arrangements because the boy had caught a cold. This morning we noted measles on the boy. Poor little man. We handed him over to the hospital onboard. Hopefully no complications will arise, which indeed here on the ship happens often. An extraordinarily large number of children are ill. For the needs of the sick, one more cabin with approx. 30 beds had to be freed up. Last night another 2 toddlers died. Simply dreadful! There are, of course, various shortcomings on this ship, but not one of them should be the cause of the strikingly widespread illness and cases of death. The cause of all the misfortune is to be found in Italy.

The ship was originally intended to head to Melbourne without intermediate stops starting from Port Said. But now it has been decided first to head to Fremantle, to disembark the severely ill. Of those there is still another half-dozen. Besides that, the ship’s refrigeration plant has broken down, so it is necessary to replenish food supplies. The remaining passengers, likely, will still be taken to Melbourne. So, it may turn out that we have to disembark in Fremantle. A pity, though, because living and working conditions in the east are said to be noticeably better. But still, I wouldn’t grieve over it especially, because who knows where Mother Fortune awaits us.”

Arriving On Australian Shores

On the 25^th of October, the Anna Salen arrives in Freemantle. There were over 75 sick children who were sent to the hospital for illnesses such as measles, enterocolitis and respiratory ailments. The Zekants family is on the list to disembark here due to illness. Žanis begs the authorities to let them stay on to Melbourne. But that is not to be. Their young son is taken to Graylands hospital and Žanis and Lore are taken by bus to the Graylands migrant camp (this is the same camp that one of the Grandmothers came to only a few months earlier as written about in Andra Putnis’s book Stories My Grandmother’s Didn’t Tell Me that I wrote about in a previous post.)

Their first impression of the camp on day one is mixed:

“By bus we were taken to the Graylands camp. The camp is not nice. Small, primitive shacks. We are 2 families in one shack, 6 people. Overcrowded. Issued to each: bed linen and 3 blankets.

Dinner turned out to be very good. Food overall is good and rich (with table service), but prepared in the Australian taste.”

By the 27^th, Žanis and Lore’s son had been transferred to another hospital, now not only recovering from measles but also stricken with bronchitis. It was just before this transfer that Žanis was approached by a reporter:

“Yesterday in camp I met with a reporter and gave him a brief report on conditions in the Bagnoli camp in Naples. Today the reporter, Lloyd Marshall, along with a newspaper photographer sought me out and took my picture.”

The next day the article and photo were published in the Daily News.

Why Was Death Aboard the Anna Salen?

“Frightened, weeping mothers fought at Perth recently to stop their sick children being taken away in ambulances from a migrant ship to Graylands. Why? Because they are used to hospitals from which there is no return.

As the frightened mothers were restrained by strong but friendly Australians’ arms, the ship in which they had come – the Anna Salen – was in the Bight, heading for the Eastern states. On the Anna Salen were three dry-eyed mothers who had wept their tears. The ship had arrived at Fremantle too late for them – their three children who had left Naples with them in high hopes of a new, free life in a new land were dead. At Graylands, waiting with his young wife for the recovery of his own child, is a man who is convinced he knows why they died.” -Lloyd Marshall, The Daily News, Western Australia Oct 28, 1949.

The article then goes on to describe former Latvian Army signaller John Zekants, 33 years old, who wrote a 3-page statement while still aboard the Anna Salen. Žanis/John had been asked to prepare this statement for the IRO (International Refugee Organization). The entire statement was reproduced and included in the newspaper. This article was picked up by other newspapers all over the country over the next couple of weeks, along with John’s photograph. He had made a mark on the history of his new land on his first day.

Read the whole original article HERE

I am not sure how John’s report was received by authorities. But in another article on the 21^st of November in The Canberra Times, there were more deaths from measles reported in the Bagnoli camp among refugees destined to emigrate to Australia. The IRO then announced new measures:

1) the food calorie level per person would be increased

2) kitchens would be used exclusively for feeding children

3) families would no longer live in gender separated quarters but would be allowed to live together to reduce the spread of disease

The Fate of the Anna Salen

Here is where Žanis/John’s journey with the Anna Salen ends. But it wasn’t the end of the ship itself. The ship would make several journeys to Canada in 1951 and then several more to Australia in 1952. In July of 1952, it was chartered as a ferry between Stockholm and Helsinki for the Olympics. When the Games were over it was chartered for a voyage to New York. With over 600 passengers on board, the Anna Salen collided with a Norwegian whaling ship on the Scottish coast. Luckily there were no casualties and after having repairs it continued on its journey to New York.

She would continue after this to be used as an IRO migrant ship until 1955. It was then purchased by a Greek company and renamed the Tasmania. As the Tasmania, the ship would transport Greek migrants to Australia in the mid-1950s. In 1956, the owners refitted the ship as a cargo vessel. It was then sold in 1961 to a Taiwanese company, and renamed the Union Reliance. At the end of 1961, while on a voyage through the Panama Canal to Houston, Texas, old age and bad maintenance caught up with her. Many of the ship’s systems starting failing which ended in a collision with another ship, with fires breaking out on board. When the wreck was towed into Galveston Harbour there were 12 dead crewmen discovered.

This was the end of the ship’s 20-year career. It was abandoned by the owners and was sold for scrap in 1962.

Anna Salen Research Today

Today, this ship remains an important part of the migrant story for thousands of people around the world. One of these people is Amanda Lovitt. Amanda’s father was one of the migrants who came to Australia aboard the Anna Salen. During her family history research, Amanda became fascinated with the stories of the other families who came to Australia on this ship. For more than 7 years Amanda has been researching every passenger (over 8000) who travelled on it. She posts these stories on a Facebook page dedicated to this project:

Anna Salen Immigrants to Australia FB Group

Amanda does talks all around Australia and online about the project, and I remotely attended one of these talks a couple of years ago. Going through her site I was able to find her small entry on the Zekants family!

Here are two more links to more information about this ship:

Wikipedia

SSMartime.com

Although life would not be easy, Žanis/John and his wife would go on to raise three more sons and end up settling in Brisbane. Žanis/John’s passed away at the age of 68 and Lore at the age of 88.

While the ship that brought them to Australia would see its final days in 1962, the hundreds of Latvians and others who endured the long journey from Europe to Australia, would make new lives for themselves and their descendants and their stories should not be forgotten.