MOVING from one country to another can be challenging and it may take time for a person to adjust to a new environment.

People may face many difficulties when they come to another country, such as the language barrier, finding new friends, and missing home.

Elizabeth Cochrane, aka Libby, was born in Australia, a land renown for kangaroos and koalas, venomous snakes, scary spiders and a great sporting teams.

In her time she has travelled and lived in various countries, before finally settling in the scenic seaside village of Southbroom on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa.

She loves it here and has become something of an institution in the area. She describes herself as an Afro-Aussie.

Her love for history and writing has produced some wonderful articles and a few books, too.

She shared some of her memories of home and her Australian traditions.

What does Heritage Day mean to you?

It’s a time to be proud of who we are, where we are and what we are doing with our lives. It’s a great time to celebrate what you’re doing for the community because people today seem to only care about themselves these days and not each other; for me that’s tragic.

How will you and your family/friends be spending Heritage Day.

If I could get a Kangaroo tail for a soup, I would definitely celebrate Heritage Day. That would be a great way to bring that memory of home back.

What memories/nostalgia and notions of home do you still have?

All I can remember is my rich and lively childhood. It was so magical, even though we stayed in an ‘ordinary place’. Home had a lot of Anglo Saxons (Brits) but now that’s different, Australia is now a multicultural nation, people are no longer attracted to each other just because of a certain accent.

What family traditions do you still value and adhere to in your everyday life?

I still treat all people the same way. At work, I treat the help-staff the same way I treat the manager, it’s what my parents taught at a very young age; and it’s something that I will never stop doing.

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What is the best advice or saying anyone of your family has ever given you and will you pass it on to your kids one day?

My parents always told me to be true to myself at all times, be a worthy person. ”Your word is your bond.” I had fantastic parents who encouraged me to be myself at all times.

What of your specific culture is misunderstood and would you like for other cultures to understand better?

Australians are open people … what you see is what you get and I believe that’s what most people don’t understand. Australia is called ‘The Lucky Country’ because there are no social classes back at home unlike here in South Africa.

What goodwill message do you have for your fellow South Africans?

Be proud of your heritage, work together in unity. If people put the country first, they would see that there’s a positive road ahead. There’s more to people than their race or the language they speak.

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