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Australia was not generally the first choice of destination
for many migrants, simply because not much, if anything,
was known about the country. However, despite rigorous security
and medical checks, it was often quicker and easier
for migrants to find a passage to Australia than to the United
States or Canada. So desperate were many of them to
leave behind bad memories of wartime Europe and years living in
limbo in camps, they took a chance on forging a
new life on the other side of the earth.
Joe Cudars with his parents Josef and Eleonora, as he prepares to
leave a displaced persons' camp in Germany to work for the British
Army, late 1940s.
Photo courtesy Joe and Wilma Cudars
The first ships to take migrants from Europe to Australia
were often former cargo or troopships hastily converted
for the migrant trade. Between 1947 and 1952, dozens of
ships carried displaced people, accommodating them in
large segregated cabins or dormitories and offering only
basic facilities. When the International Refugee Organisation
(IRO) agreement ended in 1952 and the last of the displaced
people had emigrated, ships carrying economic migrants
tended to be of a higher standard. While the early migrant
ships sailing from Europe to Australia were far from
luxurious, for many people it was an adventure never to
be forgotten. On board the ships there was some attempt to
prepare the migrants for their new life in Australia,
with English lessons and films.
Migrants board the Nelly in Bremerhaven,
Germany, 1952. The ship is displaying an
Australian flag.
Photo courtesy Tony Siemer
Migrants who came to live in Orange usually did not go directly there.
Unless they were met by relations or friends in Australia
or already had a job lined up, those who disembarked in Melbourne
were first sent by train to Bonegilla Migrant Reception and
Training Centre near Wodonga in Victoria; those who arrived in
Sydney were usually sent to the Kelso Reception Centre near
Bathurst. The migrant camps, as they were called, offered
accommodation and food, some English lessons and basic training
for some types of employment. From there, men were usually
quickly allocated work and sent wherever the job was. They were
required to work within the industry allocated to them for two
years. Women and children were moved to more permanent
migrant holding centres in Cowra and Parkes if their breadwinners
were working in and around Orange. The reason for
separating women and children from their men was simply because
there was a critical shortage of accommodation in Orange
and there was nowhere for them to stay.