Robert               Valerie               Michael               Roslyn

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Clive Charman b.1920 & wife Ivy Charman
                



Eighty and computer crazy in Adelaide 
 
	
Adelaide city skyline, South Australia
	
Pensioners are Australia's fastest growing group of Internet users.

One of them is Clive Charman, an 80 year old computer nut (his 
description!), born in Birmingham, served with the Thorp St. 
Territorial regiment in World War II, then spent 10 years with the 
Birmingham Fire Brigade at Bordesley Green Station. He emigrated to 
Australia in 1964 and lives in Adelaide with his wife Ivy.

Here's his tale…..


 In 1963 I was working as a technician for an electronics company 
that had just been taken over and the future for our jobs looked 
bleak.



I thought there must be something better than the UK, so I got a job 
working on a rocket range at Woomera in South Australia and in Feb 
1964 my family and I headed for the great unknown.

 	
Clive's first house in Australia in 1964	


My son obtained an immediate apprenticeship as a toolmaker.

We bought a house in Elizabeth, a new town in the northern suburbs of 
Adelaide, and I started work two weeks after our arrival at a wage of 
£38 per week as opposed to £12 in the UK.



I was asked if I would go to Island Lagoon to assist with the 
launching of a test missile and I thought it sounded a bit snazzy so 
jumped at the chance. Island Lagoon turned out to be a clay pan in 
the middle of a desert 300 miles from Adelaide!!! 


At the age of 58 I was compulsorily retired. 

For the first two or three years, life in Australia is a bit of a 
culture shock. Like so many others I thought that with it's British 
heritage it would just be an extension of England. No way. It is a 
country in it's own right, with it's own traditions even though they 
were only 200 years old, and once we had accepted this life became 
quite rosy.

 	
Clive and the family off on their Christmas hols in Oz.	

We have made the most of it's advantages, such as camping and 
fishing, we bought a caravan and travelled thousands of kilometres 
without the hassle of traffic, and enjoyed everything that Australia 
has to offer.



A few weeks ago my wife and I drove 5000 Km to Queensland to attend 
my eldest grandaughter's wedding. We used motels for accommodation - 
they are very prolific and cheap in Oz.




About ten years ago someone gave me a very basic microcomputer. There 
were no programs for it and all one could do with it was to program 
it in basic. I found learning basic a very enjoyable task, and wrote 
many programs of dubious use.


 	
Clive suffers from muscular dystrophy and gets around on his scooter
	
My next computer was a Commodore 64, with which I widened my ability, 
and got further addicted, I then bought a second hand PC which was an 
absolute lemon, and at the age of 75 enrolled in the local TAFE 
college to learn how to upgrade and build computers, a skill that I 
have put to good use.



My main use of computers now is looking into the past - at 80 the 
future is a little uncertain !!!!!!.



My wife and I have had a full and happy life here for 38 years. I am 
now much more Australian than British. When I go to an Ashes test 
match at Adelaide Cricket Ground, I barrack for Australia, and when a 
Pommy does that, he is well on the way to becoming a "Dinky Di".



In 1946 when I was discharged from the British Army after 7 years war 
service, I got £80 and a "don't ring us , we'll ring you attitude". 
In Australia my service meant that I did not have to pay stamp duty 
when I purchased a house, and I was able to get the age pension at 60 
instead of 65.



Yes I love Australia, and the recent Olympic Games made feel very 
proud to be an Aussie.  



written by Clive Charman - 2001