A Living Heritage New Italy - South of Woodburn

The New Italy Museum Complex tells the intriguing tale of a group of northern Italian families who made their home in the Australian bush from 1882. *

Supported by the Powerhouse Museum and NSW Migration Heritage Centre. Continue reading

A Place for Everyone Bathurst Reception & Training Centre

Like Bonegilla, Bathurst was one of the major migrant reception centres in Australia. It accepted around 100,000 migrants between 1948 and 1952. Reminisce or learn about the rich history of the former camp at Bathurst. Continue reading

A Place For The Friendless Female Immigration Depot - Hyde Park Barracks

The Female Immigration Depot (1848 to 1886) was the primary reception and hiring depot in Sydney for thousands of Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh female immigrants.

An Historic Houses Trust and NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition.

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At The Beach La Perouse - South-Eastern Sydney

Botany Bay is one of the most significant places in the history of migration to Australia. After the arrival of the British First Fleet and the French Lapérouse Expedition in 1788 the European colonisation of Australia began.

A NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition. Continue reading

Belongings Post-WW2 Memories and Journeys

Winner 2010 National Trust Heritage Award. Memories, personal mementos and photographs of former migrants who arrived in Australia in the decades after the Second World War.

A NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition in partnership with local government and community organisations. Continue reading

Ben Fatto Bene (Well made: well done) It.So.Wel Wollongong

The Italian-Australian community is ageing. How do elderly people spend their days? View stories of seven people who have left their mark on the Illawarra through their talents and skills.

An It.So.Wel. Wollongong documentary supported by the Community Relations Commission for a Multicultural NSW. Continue reading

Did You Know…?

Did You Know? illustrates the important role migrants have played in the economic and social development of Australia.

A Community Relations Commission for a Multicultural NSW and NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition. Continue reading

Fairbridge and the Molong Community Fairbridge Farm School - Molong

Thousands of parents were persuaded to sign over legal guardianship of their children to Fairbridge Farm School. Boys and girls were to be trained as “farmers and farmers’ wives”. The School depended on child labour and was later closed. Many of those children, now adults, are talking about their experiences.

A Molong Historical Society exhibition assisted by the Orange City Council and NSW Migration Heritage Centre.

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Faith, Fashion, Fusion Muslim Women’s Style In Australia

Muslim women in Australia choose to dress in diverse ways. Some dress modestly in styles made by Western Sydney fashion designers. Explore the lives of women enjoying the new trends and the NSW entrepreneurs setting them.

A Powerhouse Museum exhibition supported by the NSW Migration Heritage Centre. Now on display at the Museum.

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Families Of Fortune (Video) Chinese People In The Tweed

Chinese migrants to the Tweed established themselves as market gardeners, banana growers, cooks, herbalists and shopkeepers. Personal stories and photos are recorded in this documentary.

A Tweed River Regional Museum and the NSW Migration Heritage Centre video.
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Fields Of Memories Scheyville Farm And Migrant Centre

Scheyville National Park, in North-Western Sydney, was the location of an agricultural training farm for English child migrants in the early 20th century, and later a migrant accommodation centre after the Second World War.

A NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition. Continue reading

From All Four Corners Stories Of Migration To Wagga Wagga

Winner 2008 Local Government Cultural Award. Explore personal stories of Wagga Wagga’s migrants through nine videos.

View this Museum of the Riverina and NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition at the Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens site. Continue reading

From Estonia To Thirlmere Stories From A Unique Community

Thirlmere’s Estonians, who worked in the New South Wales poultry industry from 1927 to 1967, recall surviving war, adapting to ‘Displaced Persons’ camp life, journeying and their experiences of settling and farming in South-Western Sydney.

A Wollondilly Heritage Centre and NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition.
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Gold And Silver Vietnamese Migration And Environments

Discover four personal accounts of refugees and migrants from Vietnam who have made new homes and attachments in South-Western Sydney.

A NSW Migration Heritage Centre, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and University of Technology, Sydney exhibition. Continue reading

Half A World Away PostWar Migration To Orange District

Highly Commended 2008 National Trust Heritage Awards. A showcase for the enormous contribution migrants have made to the economy and cultural life of Orange in the Central West of New South Wales.

An Orange Regional Gallery and NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition.
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Half A World Away – Part 2 PostWar Migration To Orange District

Highly Commended 2008 National Trust Heritage Awards. An online resource about migrants living in Orange in the Central West of New South Wales.

An Orange Regional Gallery resource supported by the NSW Migration Heritage Centre. Continue reading

Journey To A New Life Italian Migration In New South Wales

Italian migration and life in New South Wales from the late nineteenth century to the present through a selection of 24 photographs and objects.

A Co.As.It. and NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition. Continue reading

Leaving Cambodia Stories of Sydney's Pol Pot Survivors

Cambodia was devastated by the totalitarian Khmer Rouge Pol Pot regime. For every two people who survived, one person perished.

Now living in Western Sydney, six survivors share their memories with the NSW Migration Heritage Centre in compelling video histories.

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Meie Uus Kodu (Our New Home) Estonian-Australian Stories

Stories of invasion, dispossession, and settling in a new home, told by the Estonian migrants who came to South-Western Sydney as Displaced Persons post-WW2.

A Powerhouse Museum exhibition supported by the NSW Migration Heritage Centre and Wollondilly Heritage Centre. Continue reading

My Own Boss Opal Miners - Lightning Ridge

Lightning Ridge, 75 km north of Walgett, is the only place in the world where the exquisite black opal is mined in quantity and sold in the rough. People have come from around the world to find their fortunes in this outback town.

A Lightning Ridge Historical Society and NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition. Continue reading

National Quilt Register The Pioneer Women's Hut - Tumbarumba

Old quilts carry memories about our history, needlework and provide a rich insight into women’s lives. The Register features many Greek and other community quilts.

A Pioneer Women’s Hut, Tumbarumba Register supported by the NSW Migration Heritage Centre. Continue reading

New Australia The Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme 1949-1974

The Snowy Mountains Scheme is not just a great feat of engineering; it is also a great social achievement with its multi-national workforce contributing to the cultural mix we enjoy today.
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Objects Through Time Migration History Timeline

Winner 2009 National Trust Heritage Award. An online journey to view fascinating objects and explore important chapters, places and events in Australian migration history.

A NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition in partnership with local government and community organisations. Continue reading

On Their Own Britain’s Child Migrants

A better life? Understand the loneliness of child migrants separated from their homeland and sent to our shores in an online exhibition.

A collaboration between the Australian National Maritime Museum and National Museums Liverpool, UK with research assistance from the Fairbridge Heritage Association and NSW Migration Heritage Centre.

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Our Newspapers Online First Editions and Histories

Our Newspapers Online features first editions and histories of community newspapers, highlighting their vital role in supporting and informing communities across New South Wales.

A NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition supported by community newspapers. Continue reading

Packing To Leave Migration From South Asia to Sydney

View mini-documentaries filmed in people’s homes. Former migrants share their personal stories, photos and memorabilia.

A NSW Migration Heritage Centre and Powerhouse Museum exhibition. Continue reading

Pai Nai Ma Thai-Australian Experiences

Pai Nai Ma means ‘where have you been?’. From the Loy Krathong festival to Buddhist temples, Thai culture has become a part of the Parramatta, Western Sydney and wider Australian story.

A Parramatta Heritage Centre and NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition. Continue reading

Prisoners In Arcady German Mariners In Berrima 1915-1919

Winner 2009 Museums and Galleries NSW IMAGinE Award. Discover the story of captured German mariners and their internment at Berrima during World War One.

A Berrima District Museum and NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition.

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Real Stories People & Cultures At Work - Liverpool

Journey through the stories of migrants who work at South-Western Sydney’s Liverpool Health Services, in a series of online documentaries. Hear them talk about the successes and frustrations of establishing a new life here in Australia.

A Liverpool Health Services and NSW Migration Heritage Centre exhibition supported by the NSW Refugee Health Service.

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