Reading Room: Books, CDs & DVDs

Fruits Of Our Labour
The central role played by Italians in the economic and cultural development of the Griffith area is a source of much local pride.

Griffith's first Italian settlers arrived in 1913. By 1933, one tenth of orchards were owned and managed by Italians and by 1954 at least half. After the Second World War, Griffith's Italian business interests helped create the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area as a nationally important place for growing and processing rice, grapes and citrus and stone fruits.

Fruits Of Our Labour: The History Of Griffith's Italian Community was written by Jennifer Cornwall for the Griffith Italian Museum and NSW Migration Heritage Centre.
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The Other Side Of The World
With hopes high and families left behind, migrants travelled to the Tweed from the South Sea Islands, China, India, England, Greece and Italy, and many other nations. This illustrated book documents the Tweed's history of migrant labour on banana plantations and sugar cane fields.

The Other Side Of The World: International Migration To The Tweed 1940s to 1960s was written by Dr Johanna Kijas and the volunteers of the Tweed River Regional Museum.
» More info » Book order form (pdf) » Book launch pictures

 

The Forgotten Children
From 1938 to 1974 thousands of parents were persuaded to sign over legal guardianship of their children to Fairbridge and the Farm School, Molong. Now many of those children have decided to speak out. Physical and sexual abuse was not uncommon. Loneliness was rife. Food was often inedible. The standard of education was appalling.

This remarkable book by David Hill is a tribute to the children who were betrayed by a migration scheme that went terribly awry. Research was supported by the Centre and Heritage Office in the Department of Planning (NSW). » Purchase copies
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Half A World Away
This richly illustrated new book Half A World Away: Post-War Migration To The Orange District 1948-1965 by Elisabeth Edwards is a tribute to the hundreds of families from Europe and the United Kingdom who left conflict, uncertainty and economic chaos in the hope of attaining a stable, prosperous lifestyle in the Orange district.
» More info » Book order form (pdf)

 

Wing Hing Long & Co Store
A new souvenir booklet written by Stephen Thompson, entitled Wing Hing Long & Co: Chinese-Australian Rural General Store 1881-1998 is for sale at the Wing Hing Long & Co Store, a volunteer run museum, at Ruby Street, Tingha (26 km south of Inverell). It is also being distributed by the Guyra Shire Council, Guyra Tourism Centre and Heritage Council of NSW, Department of Planning (NSW).
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Fields Of Memories
A new souvenir booklet written by Charles Pickett with Anna Williams, entitled Fields of Memories: The Scheyville Training Farm And Migrant Accommodation Centre 1911-1964 is for sale at Scheyville National Park, Pitt Town.
» Read booklet » More info

 

Zivil Lager (Internment Camp)
A new souvenir booklet written by Stephen Thompson, entitled Zivil Lager (Internment Camp) World War One Prisoners Of War At Trial Bay Gaol is for sale at Trial Bay Gaol, Arakoon State Conservation Area, South West Rocks.
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History of the Fairbridge Settlement, Molong
A new CD Rom by Ian Bayliff and David Hill documents the history of the Fairbridge settlement and features photographs, plans and drawings.
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Lives Lost, Life Regained
In six interminable years of madness their ancestral homes and communities were swept away. Lives Lost, Life Regained is an anthology of excerpts from the memoirs of participants from Sydney Jewish Museum's Community Stories Program. Supported by the Migration Heritage Centre and NSW Ministry for the Arts.
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Canterbury's People
Celebrate the stories and lives of Canterbury's people, a City of Cultural Diversity, located 14 km south-west of Sydney's centre. It is a cosmopolitan hub of cultures, religions, languages and races.
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Australians And Greeks Vol. 3
Volume three concludes Hugh Gilchrist's award winning history, covering an age of war and migration - when world crisis brought Greeks and Australians into intimate contact. A Halstead Press publication supported by the NSW Migration Heritage Centre.
» Book order form

 

Golden Threads
This richly illustrated history by Janis Wilton explores Chinese working lives, hopes and beliefs in regional New South Wales from 1850 to 1950 and the attitudes of a white Australia which viewed the Chinese at one extreme as a menacing threat and, at the other, an exotic presence.
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Sharing The Lode
From Afghan cameleers to Filipino book-keepers, this oral history by Christine Adams is the story of Broken Hill's non-English speaking migrants who arrived in a harsh and alien outback mining town and chose to call it home.
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Tune Into Fairfield City
Tune into the local government area with Australia's largest multicultural community, with residents from more than 200 nations. Cruise to the sights and sounds of a multicultural driving tour on cassette or compact disk.
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Real Stories: People And Cultures At Work
Read and view, in a book and video, oral histories of Liverpool Health Service's employees, in Sydney's south-west, their wealth of skills and new ideas, as well as their compassion and resilience gained from experiences as migrants and refugees.
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Reading Room: Oral Histories

Preserving ways of life, seeking opportunity, escaping oppression, joining family and friends - read personal stories of arriving and settling in New South Wales, Australia. Hear recordings of migration memories in projects marked with this symbol

 

Reading Room: Online Reports

Read our online reports and print them.