This memoir was written for Arthur's granddaughter, Vivian (Sanders) Pope. My grandfather's original spellings were preserved in the transcription, so do not blame the proof reader. Additional punctuation has been added and paragraphs introduced for ease of reading.

This is a part of my Life Travels

Arthur James Richardson was born in 1879. on the Mallam Rd Forest Hill London England and in 1888 was .9. years old and my father and my mother emegrated to New Castle, New South Wales, Australia on a pretty sailing ship, the name The Dallem Tower. And when we got a weeks sail from London a terrible storm came up. The night was dark and stormey and the wind was howling wild. There was 300 pasengers on bord and an old sailor with white whiskers looked like Sandy Claws was kneeling on the deck bowing up and down calling to God to stop the storm so the ship would not sink. I remember my mother was sick all the way to Australia it took eight months to get there. The storm broke the marst in half but the galent sailors put another up and in the morning the sea was carm, not a ripple to be seen and the sun shon all over it and the ship sailed on to New Castle, Australia.

To cut a long story short, we landed in New Castle safe and my Dad got a house to live in. We was all happy togather. My father got houses to build had plenty of work making a pound a day. That is a gold English sovereign. All the money in Australia is gold and silver from The Bank of England. On a Sunday morning my two brothers took me to the beach swimming. The beach was full of maneating sharks so when we got to the beach there was a rock 10 feet from the water, four miles long and flat on top. My brother Frank got on top and a big wave came over him and took him over into the ocean with sharks. So my brother Henry said to me, you see this six inch knife? I said yes. He said I can kill any shark with this. So he jumped into the ocean and swam to his brother Frank. They swam for miles to the sand beach and walked out smiling. They was lucky. Many a man was draged to the bottom by his foot.

We had some good times in New Castle but work got slack. We left and went to the great city of Melbourn. We landed on Christmas morning. The church bells was ringing so pretty and the street cars was full of people laughing; a great city, full of life. We rented a pretty bunglo on the corner of Buckham Place. It had a porch all around covered with black grape's. I had my share. My father contracted for to build a Lady's Collage with a, hundred and 25 room's in it. I learned to be a bricklayer on it and when it was finished my father and I went to see his old aunt in Queensland. Had a large farm with a larg cabon on it, had a big chimney and fireplace on it. She sat by the fire, smoked a clay pipe. She took me to see the oldes living thing on this earth. It looked like a palm tree. The name was magosler tree. It was 15 thousand years old. Scients from Europe came to see it. Believe it or not she said she leave the farm to my father but he never stayed any place long. We went back to Melbourn and finished up the work.

And work getting slack in Melbourn, we took the steamer to Hobart, Tasmania, an ireland off the contantent off Australia where my father took the family to. It is a beautieful ireland all laden with all kinds of fruit my Dad built two mansions there. One for a stoor keeper. The other for a man that had a sailing ship and caught wales on the ocean. He was a millionair. So while they was getting ready to build, I and another young man maid up ower minds to climb Mount Wellinaton. It was 5000 feet high. We had to go through a thick forest to get to the foot of the mount and in the forest there was millions of rabberts, whild chickens, all kins of game. No one could starve in Tasmania. I call it God's ireland. Well I climed to the foot of the mount. There was a long 50 foot chan to clime. I climed the chain to the top. There was a small bank to land on. I sliped. A little tree saved my life. I could gon 50 ft in the rocks below. I climed to a big rock and got behind and went to sleep. I was tired but went to the top of the mountain. There was a big ston on top the shape of a saucer rocking with the wind. I got on top. I could see for miles and the big red sun shone all over the ocean. It was a beautieful sight. I sang sweet Bular Land on the highist mount. I stand. I look away across the sea where manchans are prepared for me and view the shining O so bright. My heaven, my home for evermore. I could hear the sound of my voice coming around the mountains like a T.V., plane word for word. I came back down the chane. My buddy was still waiting for me. He would not clime the chain. So we maid for home. We sleept in a big hollow tree for the night. The laughing jackass was screaming like a young woman laughing in the morning. The mocking bird was singing in the bush and thousands of huming birds flying all around. So we traveled on home.

In the morning I see my mother. She had tears in her eys. She said your father and two brothers have gon to South Africa, The Transval, Johannesburg. So I went to work and saved my boat fair and I went to Johannesburg. When I landed on the boat to leave Tasmania everyone on the boat was siting still. I got my consertinia and played The Barol Polker and The Girl I Left Behind Me. Boy did I get friends. I got eats drinks and a place to board. I could make a consertinia talk. Well we had a nice time on the boat till it landed. Then everyone vanished. So I took my consertinia to the beach, played marches walses and I stayed in Cape Town a month. I had frends everyplace. It cost me nothing, for board. I played in hotels till, 2, in the morning and layed bricks in the day time. I always had money with my consertinia. I got, 10, dollars to play at partys and birthdays and weddings. I had a nice time all the time when I was 20 years old.

I layed bricks for 2 weeks in Cape Town and took the train for Johannesburg. It was one thousand and .15. miles jurney to Johannesburg. It is 6000 - feet above the level of the sea and a thousand miles inland. I landed on Sundy morning. My dad met me on the train and he took me to church with him So I went to work with him on a hospitle laying bricks on Hospitle Hill. Everything went on for a month I was working on the low end of the building when a big black labourerer came to me and said Mr. Arthur your father fall. Scafeling all come down. He is hurt Mr. Arthur. I ran to my dad. He said Jesus is with me, take care of your mother. He was taken to the hospitle. I went with him and stayed with him till he died.

He had a pretty faird harid nurse. She gave me my super, a beef stake pudding and when I was finished she said Arthur your father as gone to be with Jesus. I got up looked at Dad and cryed like a baby and the nurse cryed to. She said where is your mother? I said on the ocean saling to England. She said you come with me to supper. You will like my father and mother. They have a lovely home. I did. I was happy with them. Her father worked in a bank. In the evenings we played checkers. I maid a pound a day, the highest paid wagers in the world in Johnnesburg. I saved four thousand gold sovereigns and I promised to marry the nurse. She played the organ in the evenings. It was a nice happy home. Her father and mother told her there home was ouer home. We could all live happy. But one evening my brother came to me and said I have got my ticket for England. I said you go, I will come later. He said no, your mother won't like it. So I got my ticket and told the nurse I was going to England, to come see me off in the morning. She did. She said I will never see you again. She watched the train out of sight. I never see her any more. I done rong. I brok my promice.

When the train got to Cape Town we had to wait a week till a boat went to London, England and in that I met a young man and we maid up our minds to clime Table Mountain. It was 4000 feet high. We climed it and went over the other side. We went throw a forest. There was a lot of silver leaves. They look so pretty when the sun shone on them. We stayed all night in the woods with a fire burning and while I was siting on a log I had my pocket full of penuts and a little baby monkey jumped up on my knee and put his little hand in my pocket. He would not leave me so I took it on the boat to London. The Capten took a liking to him, so when I left the boat I left the little baby monkey in my caben. It schrimed when I left but the Cap wanted it and he got it. I left all the penuts in the caben for it.

So I got off the boat and walked over London Bridge. I heard a pretty voice singing will you by my sweet lavendor 15 brances a penny Please buy my pretty flowers. She was a pretty girl blue eyes with fair hair curley. I gave her a gold sovereian and said to her, I will com back again and buy you a pretty new dress and take you where you will never sell pretty flowers no more. So I got on the train for Forest Hill to see my mother. I stayed with my mother 3 months and I got on the train for London to find that pretty flower girl. But she vanished. I never see her anymore. So I went back to my dear old mother. She said God moves in a misterious way his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea and carms the mighty storm.

So I stayed with mother a cople of weeks. Contractor builder came to the house and wanted me to go to London and fix some luce bricks around some windows. I did and the whistle blue 12 oclock. A pretty little brown eyed nurce with a little white cap on handed me a beef stake dinner. Boy that was love at first sight. I fell in love with her and when I finished she left the hospitle and came to Forest Hill Nursing Home. She came to see me. She got my mother work nursing. My mother liked her. I used to tak her to the shoes on Saturday night. So we got married and Ted was born in Forest Hill and we moved to Essex where my wife father and mother lived and Ben was born in Essex, England. We stayed in Essex a year and went to Toronto, Canada, and Myrtle and Victor was born and Ivy another girl making it 5 in the family. Well we was happy.

I built 3 houses in Toronto. Then the world war started. I tried to join the army. They said I had to many kids. So I took the family to Florida. We stayed in Florida 2 years. I helped to build the cort house in Palm Beach, Florida. Then I went to Lakeworth and built a school there. Then I went to Georger and helped to build a railway station and when that was done we took the train to Baltimore. We got a house to live in on Pratt and I layed bricks in Baltimore, all over Maryland. And I went to the union and everything was going on nice till I came on to the street. I see a big crowd of men and a officer soldier beging for men to join the army. There was 200 men. I stood, listen and no one volunteered. One said it is not my war, I did not start it. The officer said I did not starte it but this is my country and your's to. Lets go. I taught it would be a good chance to get a trip to the old country. I said take me officer. He said you are Englis. I said you spake Englis to what are you fighting for. So he said I cant take you. You have 5. kids. This was when the USA entered second world war.

I moved to Elkrig and my wife started a grocers stoor and we put ower money togather and built a brick house in 1550 Lister Road, Arbutis so we would have a home of ower own. But it did not turn out that way. I just came in from work and had my supper and was looking at the TV and my wife came in from the stoor and said Arthur I am to sick. I am in pain. I cannot go on any more. I called the dock. He came and called the hospitle. She was there 3 days. She was sent home to die with a terrible cancer and she past away in the pretty brick house she wanted me to build. She had her wish. God bless her. She was a nurse in Sant Georges Hospitle, in the operation room in London, England. That was the time I first meet her. Such is life.

Then I went to stay with my son Victor for some time and got sick, so my son Victor took me to the hospitle and the dock said to me, Mr. Richardson you have got to have an operation or you will die. You have a prostrat glan. It must come out. I said dock take it out. They did. I have been a better man since. Thank God. It saved my life. My son Victor took me just in time. So my daughter Myrtle came to the hospitle and took me to her home and I stayed for a time and her husband was a sick man and I thort she had enough on her mind.

I got married again and lived in my brick house again. We lived happy and took trip to Florida. The last trip I took to Florida I got sick and my wife Theresia drove me to the Melbourne Hospitle. I was well, the next day so we went home on the train and stayed 3 months. And Theresia my wife in the morning got up to get my breakfast. She walked in the washroom and fell dead on the floor. The lady next door just came in. She called the amblunce. They took her to the hospitle. That was the last of my wife Theresia. I was left alone again living with my daughter Myrtle. I am happy I have a nice room. Myrtle's husband as just come in. He as been to Florida fishing for a week. We will have fish now.