Tell us your story…

Tell Us Your Story - migrating to NSW, Australia

How was life before coming to Australia?
What was the journey like?
What special mementos were brought to Australia?
How were the early years in New South Wales?

Share your story about migrating to Australia and settling in New South Wales. It could be your own personal migration story or you could interview someone else. All stories submitted will be reviewed for the story section of our website.

Before you begin please:

Preparing your story:

Below are some questions to think about before you write down your own migration story or interview a family member, community elder or close friend. (If you interview another person, please make sure you have their permission for online publishing.)

When thinking about migration and settlement, some special mementos may come to mind. These could be heirlooms brought over to Australia or everyday items that relate to the early times in New South Wales. We would enjoy seeing pictures of the interview subjects with their memorabilia items and are also keen on old photographs that link in with your story!

Before you complete this form, we recommend you save a copy of your migration story (in a format such as a Word document) to your computer. This ensures you won’t risk losing your story if it takes a while to type up or a computer problem arises.

Prompt questions:

Where and when were you born? Was your name different at birth?

What was your life like before coming to Australia? Why did you leave? What did you bring with you and why?

What do you remember about your migration journey?

When did you arrive in Australia and what were your first impressions?

How did you end up in New South Wales? Where did you live in the first few years? Did you stay in migrant accommodation? What was it like?

What jobs were held by you or a family member? Was it different to the work done before moving to Australia?

What helped you settle moving to a new country? How do you feel about your life in Australia? What have been the milestones?

What special memorabilia and old photos represent the milestones in your migration and settlement story?

Story Submission Agreement

1. By submitting text, images and any other data, I authorise and give consent for the NSW Migration Heritage Centre to use all or part of this material for research, publication,

transcription, exhibition, interpretation, publicity or broadcasting as required, including third party websites such as YouTube.

2. As copyright holder of the photographs, documents, certificates, letters or personal memorabilia submitted, I grant the NSW Migration Heritage Centre

permission to:

a) reproduce any of these materials for print and website publication, as well as for publicity purposes; and

b)  reproduce any of these materials for exhibition purposes.

3. I accept that the NSW Migration Heritage Centre reserves the right to decide whether or not to publish the submitted material.

I agree to these terms
& am ready to submit my story to the online form »