Mayor Sidney Bennett, Councilmen George Toalson, Joe Alcala, David Gonzales and Cecil Cudd; City Manager, Jim Hiler and interested persons met at the City Hall Tuesday morning to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Pearsall of Toukey, Australia to Pearsall.

Mr. and Mrs. Pearsall brought a book of extracts of will of the Pearsall Family from records in England. This book, written in the English style in long hand, was prepared by Mr. Pearsall's uncle. It contains records dating as far back as 1066.

Each will would begin with "In the name of God - Amen- In the year of our Lord - ". One gentleman who died in 1615 left a forturne of 170 pounds which amounted to $350 then but would be at least $30,000 at the present time.

There are three volumes of books on the Pearsall family in the public library in Salt Lake City, Utah of which Mr. Pearsall made photostat copies of excerpts and also about Nathan G. Pearsall who was a railroad man.

Mr. Pearsall also had a copy of the Pearsall Crest and Coat of Arms. Each family's crest varies some but basically all are the same. One side is of the wife and the other half devoted to the husband. The motto is "Nothing Without Labor".

The Pearsall family migrated to America in 1620, settling in Long Island. One family was in the tobacco trade and another was in the butter business.

Mr. Pearsall gave many interesting facts about his native country, Australia. He said the ordinary Australian loves to travel and will save for his holiday. The average salary in his country is $200 to $250 per month and those making $300 per month live in luxury. When they buy a TV, it is expected to last 10 to 15 years. They drive their cars about 8 years before trading for a new one. Mr. Pearsall stated that living standards in America are much higher.

Taxes on real estate is about the same as in the US but their sales taxes are hidden, being added on at the factory. Mr. Pearsall said that the Americans were more tax conscious than those living in Australia. Their clothing is about the same price as in the USS but all electrical appliances are about twice as high. Food in restaurants is much higher, consequently the Australian does not dine out as often as the Americans.

Voting in Australia is complusory from the age of 21 on. Sickness is no excuse, and if a person fails to vote he is fined from $5 to $10. Ill person vote absentee.

The Australian have a form of Social Security by which when they reach the age of 65, they may draw $10 per week, if they have no other income or property. They also have a form of medicare which will take care of a part of their hospital and doctor bills.

To encourage people to homestead the land in the interior they are given, by the government, a flying doctor, and a short wave radio service which they can communicate with each other. The children are educated by radio, classes beginning at 9 in the morning and continuing until four in the afternoon. After classes are over the ladies may use the radio to visit with each other, some 500 miles away. Some of these ranches are 1,000 miles square. 80 percent of the people live along the coast line.

The majority of Australians belong to the Anglican Church (Church of England) second the Roman Catholic and third, Methodist. There are also Baptist, Presbyerian and Lutheran churches there.

The Pearsall's have two children, a son age 8 and a daughter, 13. They could not make the trip because they are in school. Their parents are keeping in close touch with them by ham radio. Mr. Pearsall is an avid ham radio fan and talks to different operators in the US several times a week.

Mr. and Mrs. Pearsall gave the Frio Public Library a book entitled "The Australians", a book of the people in Australia.

Courtesy of Mr. James Pearsall

AUSTRALIAN PEARSALLS- See if you descend from this family.

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