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 left England with my family in January 1965. There was my Father (Andrew), my Mother (Jean) and my sister (Monica). I was 13. We were moving to Australia because my Father changed his employer. He was an airline navigator and he moved from BOAC to QANTAS.…
Lionel Adams-Acton, England, 1965
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Bernard(Bernie) came to Australia with his mum, Ellen and stepfather in 1951. He had spent time away from his parents during the london bombing raids being sent to Wales. Bernie and his family were amongst many post war migrants from England searching…
Bernard Leonard, England, 1951
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Nancy wanted some better opportunities than her village of Castle Douglas could offer, and she wanted a bit of an adventure.
Nancy met her future husband of 57 years Reg on the table of the New Australia ship. She also met her bridesmaid Anne. They went…
Agnes Chesney (Nancy) Hunter, Scotland, 1952
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Reg’s brother Lionel was already in Australia and recommended his older brother come to join him, in the land of opportunities
Reg left on the “New Australia” ship via Aden. He sat opposite Nancy, who became his future wife of …
Reginald Ewart George Bowring, England, 1952
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At the age of 23 I was considering a working holiday to Australia because my 2 elder sisters were in Australia . My father then said if you are going to Australia then so are your mother and I. My sister Eileen was in the WAFs during the war and met and married…
The Tivey girls Williams, UK, 1960
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My Parents and I left Latvia due to the then Imminent Communist occupation. I travelled with my parents on the ship Olga Oldendorf from Riga to Danzig in 1943. We remained in Germany as refugees during the war and then in DP Camps including Spakenberg.…
Edvins Briedums, Latvia, 1949
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Hello,
I arrived from Lisbon in Portugal with my mother, Maria Rosa Gomes Mota as my father Antonio Teixeira Mota had arrived from France 2 years earlier. Times were tough in Portugal due to the dictatorship of Salazar, dad had previously immigrated…
Marie Brennan, Portugal, 1971
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Peter always told the story that he was born in the red-light district of Hamburg; across the road from a brothel and around the corner from a brewery. His father was a master butcher. His parents were older when he was born (11 yrs after his brother) …
Peter Klein, Germany, c1953
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Dimitrije grew up in a small village called Lukovica in Eastern Macedonia. He had always wanted to travel and when he was just a small child he made up his mind that he would leave his homeland and seek his fortune. After he had completed his National …
Dimitrije Jordan Mitevski, Macedonia, 1964
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Reason for leaving homeland – Left India to make better life in England but changed my mind to go to Australia for doctoral study at Monash University.
About the Journey – Left India for England by Air India in June, 1962. Left England …
Dr Jogindar Singh and Mrs Bimaljit Kaur Josan, India, 1963, 1964
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Kenya was about to get self government, and after witnessing the atrocities that occured when the Belgian Congo gained self government, my parents decided that the whole family had to move somewhere safe. So they chose Australia. It was decided …
John Tweedie, Kenya, East Africa, 1961
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With my wife Isabella nee Blackwood and our 10month old son John, I left Scotland to find a better life with many opportunities and to reunite my wife with her two sisters in Melbourne and Cohuna in Victoria.
We travelled by train from Ayr in Scotland…
John Harvie, Scotland, 1973
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I was born in the Ukraine Alexandra Abolonina. My father died when I was 3 years old and so I lived with my mother and younger sister Raisa. On 22 June 1941, Kiev was bombed by the Germans. We went to our babushka’s house in 1942 and the Germans arrived…
Alexandra Koruniak, USSR, 1951
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My wife(Dawn) and I left South Africa because we could not see a secure political future. Apartheid was at its worst. The harsh regime was unrelenting in its pursuit of its ideals of white minority domination of all spheres of society. Having been …
Frank Marks, South Africa, Feb.1970
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My G.G.G.Grandfather Donald was a shepherd on the Isle of Carna, Argyll, Scotland and wanted to give his family a better life in Australia. He left Isle of Mull on 16 Sept 1839 on the “George Fyfe” and arrived Port Jackson 23 Jan 1840. He…
Donald McDermid, Scotland, 1840
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‘The Great Trek (journey) to the Lucky Country.’
Today I heard another South African accent in the local shopping mall. An accent that stirs my heart because I can relate to what that accent represents. Sometimes it is an English accent…
Julie, Glenn and family Stuart, South Africa, Apr-99
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Reason for leaving homeland – Opportunities for advancement for my husband’s career in engineering.
Also coming from a small village there was more scope for my young daughter to develop.
About the Journey – Sad leaving my family,…
Elizabeth Bermingham, England, 1969
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My husband and 2 year old daughter, who was born in Liverpool, UK arrived from the UK . We had lived in Liverpool UK for 5 years and decided to migrate to Australia. I had completed my Clinical Psychology training in Liverpool and was offered a position…
Saroja Srinivasan, India, 1972
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I was born in Muenzbach, Austria. From an early age I wanted to travel. I was adventurous and left Austria for work in Switzerland and then England in 1971. I lived in London for 2 years and during this time befriended Australians. I joined the Austrian…
Theresia Maria Hobbs-Ratzinger, Austria, 1975
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After WW11 my dad Peter Paul Taylor who served with the British Navy for 30 Years or more retired from the navy in 1948. After he left the navy he could not settle or find employment in Malta. He started thinking about starting a new life for us in an other…
Carmel (Charles ) Taylor, Gzira Malta, Sep9 1951
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Santo Di Bartolo departed from Rome on the first paying migrants’ flight from Italy to Australia after World War II. It was 14th September 1948, and he was one of 27 Italian men, women and children from all around Italy who headed to Sydney with…
Santo Di Bartolo, Italia, 1948
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My mother Maria left her homeland to find a better life with her husband and their future family. She lived on a family farm in a village and during WW2 she spent time on a farm in Hungary. She was 31 years of age in 1957 when she left her family home with Steve…
Maria Zaklan, Yugoslavia, 1957
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My father Steve left his homeland to find a better life for his wife and his future family. He lived on a family farm in a village and worked in the local shop. During WW2 he spent time on a farm in Hungary. He was 34 years of age in 1957 when he left his family…
Stevan Zaklan, Yugoslavia, 1957
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Reason for leaving homeland – I am getting married to my long time boyfriend name Peter Reardon.
About the Journey – It was a 7 hour trip from Manila to Sydney. I am excited, nervous and most of all happy because for the first time we will …
Aileen Vidal Reardon, Philippines, 8/6/2007
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As far as I know the only reason for leaving the Orkney Islands was to make a better life for himself in the new colony. His father Peter (born 1781 , in a census in 1821 he was 40) was a Ships Captain and he knew that the “Stirling Castle” was…
John Laughton, Orkney islands , Scotland, 2/1/2014
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Viktor Aleksandrovich Amerikov and his wife Elena Ivanovna (Kazakova) Amerikova were captured and imprisoned by the Germans in early 1942 on Ukrainian soil (Zaporozhe). My father at the time was a Russian ‘tankist’ in the Russian…
Viktor Aleksandrovich Amerikov, Ukraine, 20/03/49
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Reason for leaving homeland – We had just married In England and wanted to start our married life independent of well meaning family
About the Journey – We sailed from Southampton – departed 22 October 1974 – came via Canary…
Gail & Malcolm Hugman, england, 1974
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