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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This is the story of my parents. My dad worked for WHO in Vientiane, Laos, as a research doctor. My mother worked with her relatives. My parents didn’t earn a lot of money but we manage to get by. Because we manage each day and because dad worked …
Soune and Soi Sourivong, Laos, 1986
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Elizabeth Amelia Orr
Mrs R A Perkins (nee Orr) Obituary
The death occurred with painful suddenness on Monday morning at Ballarat of and old and very highly respected pioneer resident of this district in the person or Mrs. Perkins, wife of Mr R A Perkins.…
Elizabeth Amelia Orr, Wales, 1852
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Richard Anstice Perkins
Aug 19 1837 Richard Anstice Perkins was born at 22 Edward St Sepheny, London. At age 2 he came to Australia with his parents on the ‘Java\’ arriving at Holdfast Bay, SA on Feb 2 1840. He helped his parents on the farm…
Richard Anstice Perkins, England, 2/6/1840
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February 6 1840 Richard William Perkins, born in London on Nov 13 1808, with his wife Sarah (nee Anstice) & their 2 children Richard Anstice & Mary Ann survived a horror trip to arrive at Holdfast Bay aboard the Java (The Coffin Ship). They…
Richard Perkins, England, 2/6/1840
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Wundersitz Family
Wundersitz translates as wonderful or miracle seat, and may have had Swiss origins.
Johann Friedrich Carl Wundersitz was born in Rietschuetz, N/W of the present Krosno, on 28th May 1817, in the administrative district of Zullichau/Schweibus.…
Johann Friedrich Carl Wundersitz, Silesia, 1850
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Life in the homeland
WILHELMUS CHRISTIANUS TYS (originally TIJS) was born on 28 June 1920 in Eindhoven, Holland. His father was a cigar manufacturer while his mother raised their four children, with Wil the youngest.
On completing primary school…
WILHELMUS TYS, Holland, 1952
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Domenico Fabbo Fasanaro 23/09/1914 Ð 26/08/1998
Rosa Fabbo Scandurra 03/06/1924 Ð 17/09/2006
Domenico Fabbo was born in Catania, Sicily on 23 September 1914. Rosa Fabbo, was born in Sicily on 3 June 1924. They met at the university in Catania,…
Domenico & Rosa Fabbo, Italy, 1972
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Ernst Heinrich Klemke had been observing many people leaving their Homeland for other Countries as increased population, poor economic conditions, religious and political persecutions and reprisals were making life difficult. Along with …
ERNST KLEMKE, GERMANY, 1855
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I grew up in post war Italy in a beautiful city called Gorizia located on the border of Austria and the former Yugoslavia.
I have to say that my life in italy was a happy one until one day in April, 1955 when my father died and the world around me collapsed-peace…
Annamaria Suttorini-Ladd, Italy, 1959
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Georg Philipp Heinrich HELM (known as Philipp) was born August 12 1820 in the village of Schriesheim, a grape growing and farming region just north of Heidelberg in Germany and grew up there and became a skilled bricklayer / stone mason He married …
Georg Philipp Heinrich Helm, Germany, 1854
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THE SCHOONEVELDT STORY
The Schooneveldt family arrived in Australia from Holland in two stages: Jan (John) Schooneveldt (b1917) arrived in Melbourne in 1950 to prepare the way for his family who arrived 6 months later.
Jan had served in the Dutch…
Jan Schooneveldt, The Netherlands, 1950
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THE REID FAMILY STORY
Three Reid brothers, Richard (b1849), James (b1854) and Edmund (b1858) came to Australia in the early 1880s from Ovens, Co. Cork, Ireland, attracted in part, by the success of three cousins already in Australia. The cousins,…
Richard Reid, Ireland, 1880
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THE FISHER FAMILY STORY
Robert Fisher and Catherine Maria Hilton were married in the Chapel of St Nicholas, Whitehaven, Cumberland, England on 15 October 1853. Robert was a farmer, living in nearby Summerhill. Catherine was living with her parents…
Robert Fisher, England, 1854
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THE MARY ANNE ROUGHAN STORY
On 28 October 1849 the ‘Thomas Arbuthnot’ set off from Plymouth for New South Wales carrying 195 Irish girls,mostly from the counties of Clare, Galway and Kerry,as well as four Irish families, a widow with…
Mary Anne Roughan, Ireland, 1850
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THE DWYER STORY
Patrick Dwyer was one of the first immigrants to arrive in the ‘Canberry’ district in 1841 and lived and worked in what is now the National Capital for around 20 years. He was first employed as a shepherd on Yarralumla station…
Patrick Dwyer, Ireland, 1841
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THE MEARNS STORY
James Mearns, along with 327 other ‘convict boys’, arrived in Australia on the John Barry on 22 March 1839. The following day the Sydney Gazette reported ‘the prisoners … appear to be in a very healthy state;…
James Mearns, England, 1839
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Edith Livingstone (nŽe Lane)
Edith Livingstone (nŽe Lane) was just 8 years old when she left England for Australia with her parents and 2 siblings. It was such an adventure in 1911. The family immigrated for health reasons and it was hoped the Australian…
Edith Livingstone (nee Lane), England, 1911
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Born on 28 December 1942 I was the youngest of 3 children to parents George and Christina Aggelakopoulos. My siblings Nicolitsa, Athanasios and I lived in a village called Himadio, Piryos which is located near Olympia in Greece.
We were an agricultural…
Evi (Evyenia) Lyras (Aggelakopoulos), Greece, 1966
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Born on 12 December 1935 I was the youngest of 7 children to parents Aristos and Konstantina Lyras. My siblings (Spiros, Panayiotis, Eleni, Giorgos, Athanasios, Tavitha) and I lived at the top of mountainous North Corinth in a village called Feneos.…
Alek Lyras, Greece, 1956
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My Dad, Stephen John Borgheiinck II was born in Sioux City, Iowa USA on 28th February 1946. He was the eldest of eight children. Whilst Dad was very intelligent, his family circumstances as well as the University system in the States meant he would …
Stephen Borgheiinck, U.S.A, 1977
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In April 13th 1888 he travelled to Australia with his brother’s three children (his brother had been widowed and was now remarried in Australia)
In his diary Francis speaks of all being in good spirits as we set off for Australia, We enjoyed …
Francis Shrimpton, England, 1888
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Emerging alive from WW1 as an engineer in the Argyll and Sutherland Highland Division [as did both his brothers, George and Charles, who were wounded in France] , it was a case of looking for an opportunity for a better life. Alexander [Sandy], aged…
Alexander Stuart, Scotland, 1923
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The reasons for leaving our homeland was for a better life after the war in Europe, and to see our Uncle John Henry whom we (that is my sister Ann and brother John) had never met. Uncle John had seven children and they all lived in and little place called…
Judith (Waller) McNicol, England, 1949
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Richard Hammond was baptised at Lydham Parish Church on 13 April 1840.
His father Richard (1) Hammonds, labourer of Mainstone, married Priscilla Owen, domestic servant, in 1838 and they lived in Moat Hill, Bishop\’s Castle. After Priscilla…
Richard Hammond, England, 1868
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My grandparents from my mother’s side (Martin & Johanna Kemperman with 5 children) applied to immigrate to Australia from The Netherlands in 1951 yet due to health reasons were not able to go ahead with it. My parents (Gerard and Barbara…
Jos and Lilian Hasenbos, The Netherlands, 1984
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Story 2
During our time at Newborough I also remember we used to get 2 shillings to go to Yallourn and go to the matinee at Yallourn theatre. This amount paid bus fare, pictures entry and threepence for sweets! I had a paper delivery which paid me 12/6 …
John William Blythe, England, 1950
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Peter writes:
My first memory of Melbourne is of travelling down what I had always thought to be St. Kilda Road and seeing all the palm trees. (Iris is not so sure!) I think the St. Kilda Road area has changed a lot since then.
Soon after we settled in at …
John William Blythe, England, 1950
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