大象传媒

Hedydd Jamieson had harboured dreams of living in Australia for well over a decade. She and her husband Steven were desperate to cast off the shackles of running a restaurant to carve out more family time with their children. She believed that a life in Australia would restore equilibrium to their work-life balance, but she had just one week to convince Steven and eldest son Leon that a better life could await them down under.

Back in 2016 the Jamiesons - made up of mum Hedydd, dad Steven, nine-year-old Leon, six-year-old Eli and three-year-old Seth - lived in Cardigan in Wales. Hedydd and Steven were joint owners of a busy restaurant, meaning they spent more time together than most couples, but more as business partners than married ones. It was beginning to get to Hedydd.

They had met when Hedydd got a waitressing job where Steven was a chef 16 years ago. But everything changed when, aged 21, she decided to swap her apron for an adventure in Australia. Steven, scared of losing her for ever, declared his undying love and begged her to stay. She did, and Australia was put on the back-burner.

They opened their restaurant seven years ago, but juggling 70-hour weeks while bringing up three young children was proving a recipe for disaster. Hedydd, worried about what effect this was having on her young boys, was desperate for change. She came up with what she thought was the right solution - to move the family to the country she'd dreamt of going to well over a decade ago. She had become driven about the notion, but her husband and eldest son urged caution. It was too big a risk, and they had too much to give up. But Hedydd was determined they should at least sample a trial week in the Gold Coast to see for themselves what sort of weather, lifestyle and jobs they might enjoy.

So was the family won over by the possibility of life in Australia? 12 months later it's time to find out where the Jamiesons are living.