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
LuxembourgFrom Singapore we had an overnight flight to Sydney, dawn came, the first glimpse on our new home
IndonesiaBas Wie was an orphan who had survived the Japanese occupation of Timor during World War II.
AustraliaMy Dad found work at the Ordish Brickworks on Stud Road, Dandenong a few weeks after he had arriv
GreeceThe selection officer who interviewed Vassiliki Daflou in Athens described her as ‘just an averag
ItalyMy Mum was a bright and very adventurous little girl.
NetherlandsMigrants who had won beauty pageant titles were the perfect models for promotional photographs ta
United KingdomI picked 1970 as this when I was just 15 and left Aus reluctantly but keen to see me mum brothers
AustraliaWhen they first arrived in Melbourne in 1959, Mum and her family lived in North Essendon for a sh- United KingdomI arrived at the hostel late afternoon it was getting cooler and after London it was as different
GermanyAfter a few weeks in Bonegilla we moved to Beechworth in Victoria.
NetherlandsIt all began when I was at secondary school where I had to do a project on one of the continents.
LatviaOtto Kampe, the 250,000th refugee to arrive in Australia post-World War II, landed with his wife- AustraliaThe top picture is one of me and a mate walking through C Block Wacol Hostel on the way to starti
ItalyMy grandfather, Onofio, had come to Sydney, Australia, in 1904 with two of his brothers.
AustraliaThe first entry into mainland Australia by Torres Strait Islanders from the Torres Strait began i
GermanyOn our arrival in Australia, my mother Lisa's only language was German.
GermanyDad worked at BHP at Newcastle, and was meant to stay in the hostel at Mayfield, but to save mone
United Kingdom(Mitchell Librarian 1993-2001, Associate Director State Records NSW 2001-2008 and Director State
