Immigration Stories
Throughout history stories have been used to illuminate, to educate, to recount, to challenge and to engage. Every individual’s life experience is unique and dynamic, particularly for those of us who have journeyed far from our homes to establish new lives in foreign countries.
Australia’s migrant history has enabled us to develop into the strong nation we are today. Personal stories and anecdotes are an important opportunity to enrich the public record and to embellish our history. Immigration Place Australia encourages the collection of immigrant stories. By giving a voice to our immigrants, we hope to record significant experiences with increased depth and nuance. We envision an opportunity to connect generations and to build community via a comprehensive record of the distinctive immigration footprint of Australia.
IPA’s mission is to continue to collect stories until completion of the construction of Immigration Place in Canberra. At that time, subject to the agreement of the National Archives of Australia those stories will be transferred to their website – Destination Australia.
We encourage you to record your stories or those of your ancestors.
All Stories
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I, Guiseppina (Josie) Esperino was born in 1938 in San Vitp Il Tagliamento, a town of 15000 inhabitants situated in Northern Italy in the province of Pordenome some 100 KIlometers from Venice, the fourth of five children born to my mother and father…
Guiseppina (Josie) Pasut, Italy, 1957
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Mary Mazzarella (PART 11)
Initially school was extremely tough for Mary. She did not understand a word the teacher was saying and she found it impossible to make friends. Sometimes she would get teased for being different. Insensitive children …
Maria Rosaria Mazzarella, Napoli, Italy, 1964
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PART 11.
Eventually, my whole family determined to leave the country sooner or later but in a safe way. We still had hope because our first daughter fled the country by boat in 1983 and then resettled in Australia in May 1984. She lodged all necessary…
Tiem Dong (Part 11), Vietnam, 1990
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BARCS (pronounced bartch) EMERY (1905-1990), journalist, was born Imre Bruchsteiner on 21 June 1905 in Budapest, son of James Julius Bruchsteiner, goldsmith, and his wife Ilka, née Matzner. Imre attended Bolyai College and the Royal Hungarian…
Emery (Imre) Barcs, Hungary, 1939
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George (György) Molnár was born in Nagyvárad, Hungary (Romanian city of Oradea since WW2 ) in 1910 and came to Australia as a sponsored migrant in 1939 with a B.Arch. (Budapest) to begin work as a government architect in Canberra.
In 1945 he took…
George Molnar, Hungary, 1939
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Migration Story of William Kaye-Smith.
William Kaye-Smith was born at Sutherland England into a family of four (4) boys and one (1) girl in 1902. His father was employed at a shipbuilding firm as a labourer and rope maker.
William married Wilhelmina…
William and Wilhelmina Kaye-Smith, England, 1925-1927
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Robert Roberts and his brother John, sailed from London aboard the ship ‘Margaret’, on July 3 1834, via the Cape and Hobart Town and arrived at Port Jackson [Sydney Harbour] on January 10 1835, after a voyage of six months. With the two…
Robert ROBERTS, England, 1835
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Harley Robert Johnston b. 4 August 1810 was of Scottish descent.
Trained as a surveyor, he joined the West Australian Company, a colonising company formed by a number of prominent people in England to establish a settlement in a area just north of …
Harley Johnston, Scotland, 1840
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James Braid Smith emigrated from Kirkcaldy, Scotland sometime before 1850. On 15 May, 1850, he married Selina McPharlin at the Union Chapel, Morphett Vale, South Australia. He was 35 and she 19 years of age. Their first child, a son, also named James…
James Smith, Scotland, Before 185
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Little is known of Patrick Heffernan’s life in Ireland except that in 1833 he married Ellen and they lived in the Glen of Aherlow, Tipperary. The reason most people emigrated was in response to unfavourable conditions at home and the expectation…
Patrick Heffernan, Ireland, 1855
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William Backshall, son of James and Mary Backshall, was christened on 25.2.1787 at East Grinstead, Sussex, England. He married Lydia Post on 7.10.1820 and they had a family of nine. Shortly after the birth of their last child, Fanny, in 1841, they…
William Backshall, England, 1842
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For William Kelly, the prospect of employment and higher earning power abroad must have been factors in his decision to emigrate and escape the poverty at home. In 1857 he left Kilkenny, Ireland, with two brothers, James and John and a sister Mary …
William Kelly, Ireland, 1857
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James Ansell, son of Richard and Elizabeth Ansell, was baptised on 17.5.1818 at Gravely, Hertford, England. Soon after the family moved to the nearby village of Wymondly and it was there that he grew up. James worked as a labourer and carrier and as…
James Ansell, England, 1855
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Mary Ann Brownlee was born in 1832 at Artabrackagh, a small village 1.5 mile from Portadown, Armagh, Ireland, where her father leased about 6 acres of land.
The Brownlees were a family with strong ‘Orange’ affiliations and her father,…
Mary Ann Brownlee, Ireland, 1855
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Patrick Dahill married Margaret Brunock on 6.6.1833 in the Church of the Assumption, Ballyporeen, Tipperary, Ireland. They lived at Doolis, about 3 miles west of Ballyporeen. The family were unquestionably very poor, for Doolis was marshy, inhospitable…
Patrick Dahill, Ireland, 1855
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A ‘rondo’ composition in my symphony of life: I reflect. Tones converted into images, scenes, emotions, passing by in different tempo.
The Dutch east Indies (Indonesia), WW II: at the age of ten I was forcefully taken away from my mother…
Hans Geissler, The Netherlands, 1963
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Reason for leaving homeland – Not sure
About the Journey – By ship
Impressions on Arrival – Not sure…
Sarah Mills – married name in Australia, Ireland, 1860's
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My family sailed on the Sibajak from Rotterdam the Netherlands, in 1950. My family consisted of mum -Anna Maria Wils-Scharte, dad- Wilhelmus Wils, my sister- Yvonne Wilhelmina Theresa Wils and I, Rosalina Wilhelmina Wils. We arrived in Australia…
Rosalina Wils, Netherlands, 1950
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Matti Kukkohovi (Hovi) 1888 -1956
The Hovi story for Immigration Bridge Book
In the late 1800s the Queensland Government was actively recruiting migrants from Finland. Matti and Maria Kukkohovi decided to accept the assistance and arrived in …
Matti Hovi (Kukkohovi), Finland, 1899
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Ursula Huber: My Story
IMAGE: To be included later.
MANDALA AUSTRALIA
Design & Copyright Ursula Huber
It was in the late fifties on a cold dark winter\’s day in Vienna Austria that my husband
Fred and I went to the Natural History museum…
Ursula Huber, Austria, c 1961
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It was just after the war and my father wanted a better life for his family. My grandfather who had been a merchant seaman visited Australia in the early part of the 20th century, loved the place and encouraged my dad to bring us here. Holland had been …
Frank Vandenberg, The Netherlands, 1950
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We came by KLM to Australia with our two small children, Diane (30-3-1956) and Barry (29-7-1959).
In those days it took 3 days and 2 nights of flying (we slept 1 night in Papua New Guinea,) and then arrived at Sydney airport. After having the first snow…
Harry & Henny Nyhuis, Holland, 13/12/59
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PART 1. In the Vietnam War, I served in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) (South Vietnam) since 1954. My last rank was Lieutenant Colonel and my last position was at J6 Joint General Staff (Signal Communications). I worked until the last minute…
Tiem Dong, Vietnam, 1990
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Ireland..
Late 1700 , early 1800.
John Daicy and Catherine (nee) Daley, farmers of County Cork.
Known Children, John and Daniel.
1848. The Immigrants.
East Stonehouse – County Devon.
John Daicy, labourer from Cork and Mary Hogan , housekeeper…
John Daicy, Ireland, 1849
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At a family gathering during Easter 1967 we were all bemoaning the miserable weather. The kids were all stuck inside and my wife’s young brother said “Why don’t we all emigrate to Australia. That started the ball rolling for us…
Laurie and Olive Teague, England, 1967
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I’m not sure why we left England but I think my father realised that work was short and there could be better opportunities if he emigrated with his family
We boarded ” P.&O Orient line Otranto” with all worldly possessions…
James, Joan,Marjorie,Gloria & Rosemary KEMP, ENGLAND., 17/07/50
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By his first year in school, John W. had a stutter and little self-confidence. Alice M, his mother believed his younger brother Eric\’s precocious fluency had exacerbated this state. John\’s school results disappointed his father.…
JOHN W BIRD, ENGLAND, 1923
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