Girl left: From Croatia to Kanefield

Debra Gavranich from North Queensland, Australia, recently said, ” girl Who left: From Croatia to Kanefields This is the story of a mother’s journey from Brat on Korcula to a cane field in Australia.

Debra’s mother, Mary, agreed to a proxy marriage to a sugar cane farmer in Far North Queensland who left the same village as her little child with her family in the 1920s.

The couple only exchanged photos and a handful of letters and did not know each other.

“The surrogate bride is when the groom is not attending the wedding. My father’s first cousin stood as the groom, so he is in the wedding photo. My mother , I wore a beautiful white dress made of materials that my dad sent from Australia, “Debra explains. All Things Croatia Podcast.

Girl left: From Croatia to Kanefield

It took Mary a year from proxy marriage to get all the paperwork, and at the age of 19, she left Brat for a life in Australia with her completely unknown husband.

She travels to Australia by boat with hundreds of other young men and women seeking a better life.

This book, a story of Australian immigrants, often takes the greatest risk of life for brave individuals with little or no use of English. With their determination and effort, they can live at the expense and overcome the serious loneliness of homesickness.

“I want to publish this book in Croatian, so Croats can read it,” explains Debra.

Debra with a copy of her book

You can listen to an interview with Debra. There you can hear more about her mother’s story and the amazing songs and filmmaking that accompanies it.

Click the play button below to listen.