Episode 4: Immigration post-WWII

What can the choices people make about what they bring with them when starting a new life reveal about who they are, what matters most to them, and how they reconcile honouring their past with their hopes for the future?

In this video, host Jack Evans explores items from the Museum’s collection that tell the stories of people who migrated to Australia from the end of the Second World War through to the post–Vietnam War period. Museum curators Mikhala and Stephen share a range of personal stories that reflect cultural pride, enthusiasm for a fresh start, and the connections formed in new workplaces and social spaces between people from very different backgrounds.

Reading sources

Take a closer look at some of the primary sources featured in the video, and a couple of other items from the Museum’s collection. Many of these items were brought to Australia by migrants as they left their homelands and embarked on building new lives.

View Gallery A white linen shift blouse decorated with embroidered geometric patterns in red and grey at the collar, the cuffs and the shoulders.

View Gallery A black and white photograph of a man and woman standing near a wall. The man is standing sideways facing the woman and smiling. The woman is looking at the camera smiling. They appear to be indoors with ribbon like decorations behind them. The image has a plain border with a wavy edge. On the back in graphite pencil is the text 'Kinne' and '20'.

A black and white photograph of a man and woman standing near a wall. The man is standing sideways facing the woman and smiling. The woman is looking at the camera smiling. They appear to be indoors with ribbon like decorations behind them. The image has a plain border with a wavy edge. On the back in graphite pencil is the text 'Kinne' and '20'.

View Gallery A shallow round carved wooden bowl with a removable lid. The bowl has a wide rim with a carved zig-zag pattern running around it. The lid sits above the bowl and has a short flange. On the top are carved decorations featuring curved and straight lines. The base is marked 'LATVIAN / D.P. WORK'.

A shallow round carved wooden bowl with a removable lid. The bowl has a wide rim with a carved zig-zag pattern running around it. The lid sits above the bowl and has a short flange. On the top are carved decorations featuring curved and straight lines. The base is marked 'LATVIAN / D.P. WORK'.

View Gallery Photo of the Good Neighbour Movement including Guna Kinne wearing her Latvian national dress. They are assembled on Docker Street just around the corner from Mackay Street waiting for the visit of Princess Alexandra on the 16th September 1959.

Photo of the Good Neighbour Movement including Guna Kinne wearing her Latvian national dress. They are assembled on Docker Street just around the corner from Mackay Street waiting for the visit of Princess Alexandra on the 16th September 1959.

View Gallery A pair of black leather steel capped work boots. Text written in black marker pen on the interior edge on of each boot reads, 'FRED HARRISON / SNOWY RIVER SCHEME'. The left boot has a yellow piece of wire through a leather loop at the front. Both boots were held together with a green piece of wire.

A pair of black leather steel capped work boots. Text written in black marker pen on the interior edge on of each boot reads, 'FRED HARRISON / SNOWY RIVER SCHEME'. The left boot has a yellow piece of wire through a leather loop at the front. Both boots were held together with a green piece of wire.

View Gallery A dark brown hard hat made of Duperite, which is fitted with a khaki webbing chin strap, brown leather headband, and a beige webbing liner. There are scuff/residue marks in the shape of square brackets on the back of the helmet's dome as well as three vent holes on either side.

A dark brown hard hat made of Duperite, which is fitted with a khaki webbing chin strap, brown leather headband, and a beige webbing liner. There are scuff/residue marks in the shape of square brackets on the back of the helmet's dome as well as three vent holes on either side.

View Gallery A bamboo hybrid musical instrument called a 'dan tre'. The instrument has twenty-three 800mm-long wire strings attached to a bamboo tube. An Australian-made metal hose-clamp is around the top rim, and an Australian 'DANTE' brand rectangular four-litre olive oil tin, which acts as a resonator, is strapped to the base of the tube with two metal hose clamps.

View Gallery Minh Tam Nguyen with his dàn tre. Courtesy: Minh Tam Nguyen.

View Gallery A gold wedding ring, engraved on the internal surface with the name 'Friedrich'. The ring is a plain gold band, with a slightly curved outer surface, and fine edges.

A gold wedding ring, engraved on the internal surface with the name 'Friedrich'. The ring is a plain gold band, with a slightly curved outer surface, and fine edges.

View Gallery A synthetic brocade wedding dress. The dress is cream coloured with a metallic silver floral detailing. No labels are attached.

Activities

Imagine you are migrating to another country because your home country can no longer offer you a future. You can only bring 5 items with you. Write a list of your items and for each of them, answer the following questions:
- What does this item represent? (for example, identity, survival, memory, culture)
- Why would it matter in a new country?
- What might be lost if you didn’t bring it?
As a class, compare your choices with others and identify patterns:
- What are some of the challenges that migrants face when they start to build a life in a new country?
- Why was the Latvian dress important to keep, even though it wasn’t ‘practical’?
- What do personal items reveal about migration that statistics don’t?