Year 6 - Migration: History of Migration in Australia

Immigration is a vital feature of Australia's history and national identity. Explore the journey through immigrants' stories; discover the changing routes and travelling conditions, and find out what departure and arrival meant for those seeking a home in this distant land. Click on the image to read more from the Immigration Museum.

Journeys to Australia n.d., Museums Victoria, viewed 01 August 2024, https://museumsvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum/resources/journeys-to-australia/ 

National Archives Australia. (2021). record search national archives of australia. Retrieved from https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/In terface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=152 6927&isAv=N.

Click on the image to read more..

Click on the image to read about the History of the Immigration Department Australia.

Commonwealth of Australia n.d., viewed 01 August 2024, https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about-us-subsite/files/immigration-history.pdf 

Amy McCloskey was a young Sydney woman in her late 20s she when she and a friend decided to go on a 'working holiday' to England in 1954. As she was a trained nurse she was able to work in this field in London and a year later, when she had saved her fare home, she decided to return to Australia. Amy left London on the Orient Line ship the SS Orontes in May 1955. On her first night on board she met Percival Alfred (Pat) Thomas.

Pat was 34 years old (he was born on 6 December 1920), a trained librarian and was immigrating to Australia. Pat felt there was limited potential to move up in his field in England, and a female cousin who had immigrated to Australia had told him of the opportunities available here. Family responsibilities kept him in England, he was looking after his elderly parents and an aunt, but once they had passed away his brother encouraged him to 'take the plunge' and move to Australia. Pat applied to Australia House in London for assistance but was rejected and had to pay his own fare. He also made contact with a librarian group in Melbourne before he left; Amy stated that 'he came out with the idea of succeeding'.

Stevenson, M. (2011) Pat Thomas, English Migrant, & Amy McCloskey, 1955 in Museums Victoria Collections https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/6796
Accessed 16 July 2021

Click on the image to read more..

Between 1947 and 1981, over a million Britons emigrated to Australia, the majority of whom travelled under the ten pound assisted passage scheme funded by the British and Australian governments (Hammerton; Thomson, 2005). This large intake of British migrants was encouraged as part of Australia's 'populate or perish' nation-building initiative, which emerged in the aftermath of World War II (Tavan, 2005). As the name suggests, the scheme allowed for affordable travel to Australia, with the cost of an adult ticket a mere £10, and all children traveling for free by the 1960s (Hammerton; Thomson, 2005).

Pullen, C. (2014) Post World War II British Migration to Australia in Museums Victoria Collections https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/13640
Accessed 16 July 2021

Click on the image to read more...