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Tess escaped the first atomic bomb in the world. This is what she wants the world to know
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Tess escaped the first atomic bomb in the world. This is what she wants the world to know

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Sitting in her Melbourne Lounge Room, Tetsuko ‘Tess’ McKenzie plays through faded photos with her family.
But one image never left her mind – the blinding flash of August 6, 1945 when she witnessed the first nuclear bomb in the world, the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
“I was on a railway platform when suddenly a strong white light flashed in my eyes,” said 96-year-old SBS News.
“And I turned to my friend and asked her,” What’s that? “

“The next thing we heard was a huge sound, and then, in an opening between the hills, we saw white smoke rise. Gradually it formed in a mushroom shape.”

Tetsuko ‘Tess’ McKenzie (left) looking at old photos with her granddaughter Eri Ibuki. Source: SBS / Scott Cardwell

McKenzie was a teenager when she witnessed the devastating moment that the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It was almost eight decades ago, but memories of the event were etched in her mind forever.

The 16-year-old was on his way to the city to watch a movie with a friend. Due to an extraordinary turn of fate, they missed their train – a narrow escape for which she thanked to this day.
“Oh yes, if we had caught that planned train, we would have been right in Hiroshima when the bomb fell,” she said.
Nicknamed ‘Little Boy’, the atomic bomb caused widespread destruction and was an important factor in the surrender of Japan that ended in World War II.
“We had no idea what it was. When around noon, the radio stations announced that a bomb fell on Hiroshima,” McKenzie recalled.

A slightly larger plutonium bomb exploded three days later about Nagasaki, which caused more destruction.

A grayscale image of thick plumes of smoke that come out of the ground against a black sky.

The explosion marked the first use of atomic weapons in warfare and had a profound impact on the course of history. Credit: Getty

An estimated 214,000 lives were lost in the two bomb attacks towards the end of 1945, with a majority of the dead that occurred in Hiroshima, while thousands more died of radiation poisoning later.

“After we saw the cloud, we took another train to the city, but in the end that was stopped and the authorities turned ourselves off. We had to walk a long way home, and it took many hours,” said McKenzie.
Her family in their hometown Kure, east of Hiroshima, believed that she had died in the explosion and was later surprised when she returned home.
“From that moment on I started to believe in God. And even today I thank God when I wake up every morning and before I go to sleep every night,” she said.
Yet McKenzie and her family suffer the consequences of war. Their port city was won by Allied bombs.
“Kure was burned out. The allied bombs fell all night until nothing was left.

“We hid in tunnels, and one night we heard the explosions. And I cried” I don’t want to die here, I don’t want to die. “

From Hiroshima to Melbourne: Journey of A ‘War Bride’

The life of McKenzie took another unexpected turn to 19 when she met an Australian soldier while working for the British Commonwealth occupation forces.
“I thought to myself:” Oh, he looks good “. And he looked very good,” she said with a giggle.
Corporal Ray Murray McKenzie was 22, and shortly thereafter the couple started to shiver.

But it was not easy – Japanese girls were warned to stay away from enemy soldiers.

An old photo of an Australian soldier in a uniform with a hat and holding a document smiling.

The Australian soldier Ray McKenzie was stationed in Japan when he met Tetsuko. Source: Delivered / Tetsuko McKenzie

“Some people didn’t like Japanese women with soldiers,” said McKenzie.

“But they slowly changed thoughts when they learned that most Australians were very sincere and had warm hearts,” she said.
The couple married in 1952 and made a house in Melbourne, which marked the beginning of McKenzie’s life as a ‘war bride’ – a term used for women who got married to soldiers and after the war to their partner’s home country.

McKenzie said her husband’s family made her welcome and helped her to establish a new life in Australia, far from home.

An old photo of an Australian soldier and a Japanese woman in a white dress, with a bouquet, taken on their wedding day.

Tetsuko married the Australian soldier Ray McKenzie in 1952 and moved to Melbourne. Source: Delivered / Tetsuko McKenzie

But she missed her life in Japan and, like many other war brides, she was afraid she would never return.

“Life was very difficult in the beginning, in this unknown place,” she said.
McKenzie was one of the more than 650 Japanese war brides that migrated to Australia after the end of the Second World War.
Some struggled to settle and McKenzie shared memories of a friend who was rejected by her mother -in -law.

“She received hard treatment and was forced to do all the dirty work in the house,” said McKenzie.

A woman in an extensive kimono and hat stands opposite the camera.

Tetsuko McKenzie on her wedding day in 1952, in traditional Japanese clothing. Source: Delivered / Tetsuko McKenzie

McKenzie learned to type and soon started working for the Victorian health department.

After decades of marriage, McKenzie lost her husband, Ray, 18 years ago. She stays close to her extensive family, especially Eri Ibuki and Tahila Pynt.
“When she first told us about her experience, we just couldn’t believe it. And she still remembers every detail,” said granddaughter Ibuki.

“We are all very proud of Nanna and the way she shines happiness and peace. And we are so grateful that we still have her with us today,” Ibuki said.

An older woman, flanked by two young women on either side, laughs while sitting at a wooden table with a photo album on it.

(From left to right) Eri Ibuki said she was surprised when Tetsuko McKenzie told her about seeing the traps of the atomic bomb in 1945. Source: SBS / Scott Cardwell

Just like many young people of Japanese descent who live in Australia, Ibuki and Pynt want to learn about their heritage and regret that growing up, only English was spoken at home.

“I would like to learn Japanese and it is definitely something that I would like to learn, to make better contact with their culture,” said great -granddaughter Pynt, 21.
“I am planning to visit Hiroshima next year and look forward to traveling through the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to find out more about the atomic bomb and the destruction it caused.

“I expect that it is really heartbreaking, knowing that someone from my family has experienced that.”

An older woman in a Bordeauxrode top stands on a couch next to a group of young men and women.

Tetsuko McKenzie likes to share her stories about her life in Japan with young students. Source: SBS / Scott Cardwell

Masafumi Takahashi of the Association of New Elderly in Melbourne, a community group that aims to prevent social isolation among senior members, often brings young students to the cozy house of McKenzie.

“Her stories and experiences are just so precious and unique,” said Takahashi.
“It helps to understand the destruction and loss of life.”
McKenzie said the 80one Bombardement’s birthday is a time not only to think about the lost lives, but also on the broader consequences of atomic warfare – especially because nuclear tensions in some parts of the world rise.
“We should never forget what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
“Nevertheless, countries continue to make weapons to destroy people.
“When I heard that the Second World War was over, I was very happy, but at the same time so many people had lost their lives.
“And what was it all for?”
This story was produced in collaboration with SBS Japanese

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