Share your story, read about other migrants’ memories and explore our photos – to see if you recognise someone you know. Between 1946 and 1999 government photographers snapped 22,000 images of people arriving and living in Australia. You can view them online in the National Archives’ collection.
Explore the collection
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Video portraits
Browse videos- Series: Dutch Australia Shared Cultural Heritage
Cees, Ina and Erwin Huig, Dutch migrants to Australia - Series: Dutch Australia Shared Cultural Heritage
Gerard and Marretje van Wezel, Dutch migrants to Australia - Series: Dutch Australia Shared Cultural Heritage
Sherry Wright, Dutch migrant to Australia - Series: Dutch Australia Shared Cultural Heritage
Petronella Wensing, Dutch migrant to Australia - Series: Dutch Australia Shared Cultural Heritage
Stephanie Brantz, Dutch migrant heritage - Series: A Ticket to Paradise? Exhibition
Vera Marek - Series: A Ticket to Paradise? Exhibition
Seraphin Nyirenda - Series: A Ticket to Paradise? Exhibition
Maria-Lourdes (Noonee) Doronila - Series: A Ticket to Paradise? Exhibition
Lam Tac Tam
Personal stories
Add Your Own Story
ItalyIn July, 1977, Mum's family came to pick us up and take us to Tullamarine Airport as we were on o
AustraliaThe following day I was given a very lengthy series of tests in maths, English, solving problems,
NetherlandsCornelia Grosveld and Antonius Meerbach married in Roosendaal in the Netherlands just after the o
ItalyThe MV Roma went on to Melbourne and then arrived in Sydney at 2.35pm on Thursday 11 October 1951
I was nine years old in 1956. It had been one of the coldest winters on record in Holland.
NetherlandsThis is writtrn in memory of my father and mother.In the year 1945 we had been through a war and
GermanyAustralia accepted us as emigrants in 1948 and we left Deggendorf in mid-winter.
GermanyDad worked at BHP at Newcastle, and was meant to stay in the hostel at Mayfield, but to save mone
HungaryHungarian Laszlo Makay arrived at Bonegilla in November 1951 after six years in a displaced perso
NetherlandsAs promotion for the Australian government’s migration programs, much was made of milestone arriv
NetherlandsAfter a half a year my friend decided to move to another place and I had to decide what to do, st
ItalyMy Mum was a bright and very adventurous little girl.
PolandIn 1969 at the age of 21, Cecylia was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study piano abroad, inclu
ItalyWe arrived at Greta Migrant Camp, approximately 180 kms north of Sydney, in mid December 1955.
United KingdomJohn Albert Martin, his wife Mavis and son Donald, arrived in Australia onboard the Oronsay in Ju
Vladimir and his family (Jirina his wife, and Marcella his daughter) found asylum in Australia f
AustraliaConstruction began on the Snowy Hydro Electric Scheme on 17 October 1949.
South AfricaBorn in 1901 and standing 88.9cm tall, Maria Peters was variously known as ‘Princess Ubangi’, ‘a
