Bonegilla Memories Database Name Country and Date of

Arrival Memory Duration of Stay and Hut

Location Albert Willem Achterberg Netherlands, Sept. 1960 2 months Josephine Aqqio (née Guseus)

Latvia, 29/9/1948 I loved walking through the open country around the camp and seeing the red bottlebrush bushes in bloom. I was a child of seven years of age.

Approx. 2 months

Juhaeerik Alatalo Finland, 18/2/1969 3 weeks Ann Allen Dee Marton Gyorgy

England, 20/2/1960 The birth of my second child at Blackie House [Albury Base Hospital] seven weeks after arrival. I was admitted to Bonegilla Hospital at approximately 1 am on 21/2/1960, the night I arrived in Australia. My daughter was baptised in early May by Father Krevenko, at the R.C. [Roman Catholic] Chapel in the camp. I remember the crickets, the huge spiders in the shower blocks, the wonderful neighbours who welcomed my babe and … donated her christening gown and cake, the meals in the mess, snakes under the hut.

Second hut away from the mess hall from the right

Hildegard Alvaro (née Wefel) Germany, 24/1/1957 The dry, dirty conditions, and it was very hot. As a child of ten years, it was strange to understand.

Approx. 4 weeks

Renata Anderson (née Slekowetz

Austria, 12/1949 Approx. 2 months

Armando Angeletti Italy, 21/1/1952 Suffering. Hard times. 2 months, Block 9 Dagmar (Bosse) Arpre Germany, mid January

1957 3–9 months, 19 and others

Stepas, August Lithuania, 25/3/1949 The grey, colourless land. The vastness, the isolation, were very depressing the first few days.

5 weeks, 13

Bery Babic Yugoslavia (now Croatia), 23/11/1949

Feeding the possums that lived in the hut ceiling. Being sick after drinking fresh milk for the first time in years.

3 months

Eva Balogh Hungary, 15/7/1949 Has written a seven-page essay on her experiences and is happy to donate a copy of this to the Museum.

4½ months

Elizabeth Ban Hungary, late January 1957

I was pregnant and not used to the strong smell and taste of mutton. The worst part about coming to a new country was not being able to speak the language. My husband and I were only at Bonegilla for three weeks.

3 weeks

Antonio Elio Bardini Italy, 2/8/1952 3 months, 11 Horst and Elke Bardorf Germany, 21/3/1961 It was a pretty uneventful time. We were in the camp

for four weeks. I went to Melbourne once or twice to look for a job but was unsuccessful.

4 weeks, 2

Susan Mary Bardy Hungary, 12/1/1951 It was a long time ago, but the day we arrived in the heat, by train from Melbourne, will always live in my memory.

3 months

George Victor and Anna Bartole

Italy, 1957 Beautiful trees and tranquil countryside. 3 months

Klaus Herbert Baumgartel Germany, January 1960 Arriving from winter in Europe to summer here. It was very hot. After arriving at Station Pier at night, we were shunted into trains for the trip north. I was a child and slept most of the way, but I remember the train carriage. We arrived at Bonegilla early in the morning and went to the kiosk. We were hot and thirsty. My father bought a bottle of _____ thinking it was soft drink, and took a swig. It was cordial.

3 months

Eda Yvonne Beck Estonia, Sept. 1949 Being attacked by a magpie on my way to the communal toilets.

6 weeks

Fred Becker Germany, April 1953 The great views around the Hume Weir, the wonderful weather and trying to learn English.

5 weeks

Maryse Beney Switzerland, 4/5/1961 Arriving at camp at 11 pm, my first impression of Bonegilla was that it looked like a concentration camp, which was a frightening feeling. I was an English teacher at the Migrant Adult School and I remember being asked to identify (dob in) any students who may have been involved in the riots in 1961. I also recall the drowning of a 17-year-old Dutch boy during the winter of 1961. The food was plentiful but bland to us Europeans, as we were much used to rich sauces, etc. The first time we ate shark was at Bonegilla. The aquatic bird reserve that was in the area was beautiful, with ibis and black swans. As a teacher, I was invited to the staff dances with my family and recall particularly a Polish saxophonist who was a virtuoso on his instrument.

Block 13 & 14

Horst and Helga Berg Germany, 1/8/1954 Freezing-cold nights, strange bird sounds, unusual breakfasts, e.g. sausages and potato mash. After 4½ weeks on the ocean, heavenly peace.

3 weeks

Basilo Bianchini Italy, 7/2/1952 Language (communication) difficulties. Porridge was the only food fit for consumption. Pocket money, 50 shillings a week. Beautiful countryside.

Block 10

Marta Ann Blows Ukraine (now, was Poland), 19/9/1949

There was nothing there to uplift the spirit or claim to be civilised. The buildings (huts) and food were rough. Just lots of people put into the vastness of Australia. The sky was beautiful.

3 months

Stephen John Bodo Hungary, 16/11/1949 Wilhelmiena Boon Holland, 2/7/1952 At 15 it was all a big adventure to us, with lots of Hut 18

swimming at the lake, climbing many mountains, and hitchhiking to Albury and watching out for all the single men who were there.

Gertrud Boy Germany, 2/12/1943 The children were ill. After this, we had a fairly good time. Food wasn’t too good until my husband began working in the mess hall and then things got better. They wanted my husband to go off fruit picking, but he said we came here together and that’s how we would stay, so we looked for work in Melbourne.

Block was next to hospital

Vittoria Bresciani (née Raner) Italy, Feb. 1950 3 months Brgoc Alosz Slovenia, 16/5/1954 2 days Egon (John) and Margaret Brunken

Germany, May 1960 Willing to meet and discuss memories. Two weeks, Block 18

John Alexander Bryer England, 29/11/1952 Going on to Lake Hume with … Irish and Scottish lads (all 13 years old, including me) in a rowboat and having to row very hard to get out of the lake centre. Next day or so, Dad took a motorboat out and was struggling to get back against the current from going over the weir. He was so close to the weir wall, the gaps looked big enough for the boat to go through. Mum and Dad, also my ten-year-old sister, came out. Mum and Dad are now deceased; my sister is now Mrs C.D. Kenyon.

7 days, Hut 6

Catherine Ditte Jantine Bryoh (née Pik)

Holland, 11/2/1956 I don’t remember anything. [I am] interested in stories my parents told of our time here.

4 years

Mary Buck South Africa, 16/10/1961 Arriving at almost midnight and all the people coming to look at us. Having to eat in a mess; no coffee, only black sweet tea. Many nationalities. My husband made a Koolgardie safe for me, which all our

5 months

neighbours wondered at. Michael and Vera Buczynski Ukraine, 23/2/1949 We arrived at Bonegilla at night and were afraid. The

men and women were separated in the camp. The women and children were together and the men had their own huts. Women, men and children ate together. On 28/3/1949 a bus picked up the men (Michael was one) and [they were] taken to Sydney – the railways – Regents Park, NSW. The women cried, as they did not know where their men were going. On 31/3/1949 Vera caught a train to Lausson, NSW (Santa Maria Convent and Boarding School) where she was met by Michael. He visited her on a Sunday. Michael worked on the railways until he retired. Vera left the convent, as she was pregnant and the nuns did not approve. Michael and Vera rented a garage in Bonnyrigg, NSW, had a child and in 1952 bought their own house in Fairfield, NSW.

John Carroll Director of Bonegilla, 1966–1971

My name is John Carroll. I was the director of Bonegilla from 1966 to 1971. My job on behalf of the Department of Immigration was to close the centre on 19 January 1971. This, I found, was very traumatic, as well as necessary in view of Hostels Ltd being able to provide superior accommodation. My time at Bonegilla was very enjoyable and my nine children benefited a great deal from their experiences with children from so many backgrounds. The position of director was a very responsible one, and I treated it with the care you would afford a big family. My many duties included the giving away of brides – in all, in excess of 40 brides. The centre provided a

reception for couples upon marriage. The closure of Bonegilla Migrant Centre was in my opinion felt by Albury and Wodonga business, because all the contracts for food, etc. were held by local suppliers.

Luigi Casagrande Italy, 8/4/1961 The demonstrations [held] in July 1961. Block 13, 3 months Luigi Cedro Italy, 21/6/1952 [Living] in the barracks. I was very cold. Block 1, 4 months Frank and Maria Cehun Slovenia, 24/6/1949 (Their daughter writes:) My father often mentioned

how cold they felt on first arriving – perhaps due to the unlined corrugated huts.

Stella Clarke Germany (Polish), 19/10/1949

As a small child [I remember] only the white pebble roads. (My memories are mainly what I have been told by my parents when they were alive.)

Approx. 12 months

Irene Mary Coates Lithuania, 24/5/1949 The cold, cold sheets, apricots/peaches, cereal. In Cowra someone donated a lovely pale-blue coat. Going to school. The first word I learnt to spell was ‘little’. The beautiful pastel colours of the teacher’s jumpers and knitting needles. Mum embroidering for a shop in Cowra. She saved up and bought an electric heater; it was [heavenly]. We used to walk into Cowra and people would say ‘Hello’ and ‘How do you like Australia?’ Dad worked in Albury as a mechanic and then for Yellourin Power Station.

Grace Geraldine Coelho (née Rourke)

Australia, 3/2/1952 (Teacher)

My most vivid memory is of [when] the morning school began. This was my first appointment as a trained teacher and in no way was I prepared for the facilities and conditions that we were expected to work in: the unlined corrugated iron huts with no partitions to separate classes, the complete lack of basic classroom requisites such as cupboards,

6 months

pinboards, blackboards, counting frames, books, etc. The confusion outside the huts when classes were allocated, the heat, the flies, the parents talking in languages I did not know, the babies crying, the little children frightened at the prospect of leaving their parents, the frustrating efforts of trying to explain lunchtime and home time to the adults … the smell of bushfires and the eerie light in the sky; the red moon at night as fires raged all around Wodonga and Albury districts.

Rodolfo Coma Italy, 17/1/1952 Approx. 3 months, Hut 11 Eleonora Conolly Yugoslavia, 30/5/1949 23 months, Hut 5, Block 21,

then moved when staff to Block 19, Hut 100

John Anthony Corcolizs Spain, 20/1/1963 6 months Eloisa Costoso Spain, January 1963 Lovely open spaces – many trees. A river where my

father and his brother would fish. Horrible, at times inedible, food. My father going away by bus with all the other men to work on farms. The hostel with only women and children; [we were] very scared at night. Diphtheria and polio outbreaks – two people died. We were all taken away for vaccinations. My youngest brother lost the use of his legs for a while but then recovered. A youth club where we had good activities like cooking, clay modelling, etc. Going to school – our teacher, who was a very fat young man, made no attempt to teach us anything for the three months we were there. This contempt for us was evident even to a nine-year-old child. No attempt [was made] to teach [us] English.

3 months

Elizabeth Ann Court (née Juhasz)

Yugoslavia, 1960 I felt safe after what we had left behind, but also lost because of the language barrier.

Block 19

Gertrud (Trudi) Crighton (née Born)

Germany, 4/5/1953 Lots of sunshine, heat, and different flora and fauna. Different food and lots of it, especially meat. I enjoyed the lot and never felt homesick. It was a great adventure. I have never regretted the choice to come to Australia. It is the best country in the world!!!

5½ weeks

Margaret Irma Nina Crocker (née Krohn)

Germany, 11/1956

Sergio Csar Italy, 2/1/1952 Very hot! 4 days Brigitte Maria Curnow Germany, 24/3/1949 The hospital. [I] arrived in Australia with a bad case

of measles. Meagre, dusty, tiny living quarters.

Zofia Czorwinska-Josh Germany (Poland), 6/1949 White tablecloths and silver cutlery in the dining room.

Months

Bruno Dagri Italy, 3/1956 Fishing at the weir, and rabbit hunting with sticks. 1 month, Hut 18 Pierre Louis Marie d’Eiimar de Jabruin

France, 27/11/1967 Swimming in the lake, Hume Weir. The mail call at around 11 am. The trip to Albury with Michael Cleary, the interpreter in French and Italian.

2 months

Rita De Koning (née Buur) Holland, 15/5/1956 As a child being taken to a Good Neighbour Council’s house and making toast on a coathanger over an open fire and being able to eat as much as we wanted!!

3 months

Christian De Vreeze Netherlands, 8/1952 Block 14, 6 months Edda Di-Masi Italy, 22/10/1957 The first Christmas. My birthday on 2/11/57 at

Bonegilla camp. My baby son Paul was only 20 months old and I was feeding him with bananas. … We didn’t like the food at the hostel cafeteria.

4 weeks

Nick Dirisio Italy, 9/7/1952 Tape interview 2 months, Block 11 Valerie Dolley (née Revell) England, 6/1951 Soldiers guarding the gate (frightening). Six weeks of 6 weeks

rain, mouldy blankets, a packet of Aspro (gift?). We wondered what the hell was in store for us! Pit toilets that made me vomit. Food – indescribably cooked by Europeans. We Brits rioted for the right to cook our own food. Some ‘kind’ person in Albury shopping centre toilets stole my mum’s ring …

Teresa Dymmott (née Wawrzyniak)

Germany, 30/1/1950 I was only three years old and have no recollections, but my mother has said I had measles when we arrived in Melbourne and I was admitted straight into hospital at Bonegilla.

6 months, Hut 14

Inta Rita Dzerve Latvia, 14/7/1944 Eating at the canteen – the possums in the rafters. Very cold, as we arrived in June and our mother had sold all our warm clothes in Italy, thinking that we were coming to a hot country. The grey army blankets, and my mother screaming when she saw a tarantula (?) spider for the first time – its hairy legs and enormous size.

Franz Joseph Egger Austria, 1/1959 Doina Stefanie Eitler Austria, 2/5/1949 There are many [memories]. (Has indicated that she

would provide an oral history.) All I remember is that it was without divisions and that only women and children were there, 5 weeks.

Stefan Eitler Austria, 28/8/1955 Jumping the fence [on the] weekend, to go to Cowra instead of going to Melbourne the following Tuesday.

Block 21, 1 week

John and Sofia Eleftheriadis Greece, 5/2/1955 Hut 12, 4 weeks Elles Elleftheriades Greece, 29/7/1959 Good memories, a job, … the best basketball in the

centre; movies, bushfires.

Irmgard Farici (née Skrehunec)

Germany, 11/1/1951

Luis Fedreiro Spain, 19/1/1961 Worked as a cook. 12 months, Block 19 Josef Feigl Czechoslovakia –

Germany, 24/6/1949 3 months

Valerie Fetik Ukraine, 10/6/1949 3 weeks Gerda Fileborn Germany, mid-December

1953 Approx. 2 weeks

Siegfried Fisher Germany, August 1961 The view of the Windsor in Sydney – Balmain (skyline) was the highest point; the Harbour Bridge, next on the right a brick chimney, and next right the little ‘Eiffel Tower’ (ANA radio tower). Otherwise, with family and four children, a big experience.

Suzanne Gay Fitzgerald Lithuania, 1947 This is about my parents, what knowledge I have, as I was adopted by Australians. I was born at Bonegilla, as far as I can find out. I found out in 1961 I was adopted. My father was a supervisor … my stepfather told me this. He is also Lithuanian and came to Bonegilla; he is Petra Mazylis. I have a brother who came with my parents, Vytantas. He was 12 when I was born in 1950. Does anyone remember my family?

Santo Franceschin Italy, 25/1/1961 Block 22 Lothar Edgara Freitag Germany, 23/10/1953 Train and bus to Bonegilla. Signing initials on a tree

at camp. Walking to Wodonga. 3 weeks

Stefania Paulina Gabbedy I was in Bonegilla in 1950, as a child. I’ve never had the chance to visit the museum, but am very interested in any books and memorabilia that may be available. I am looking forward to the exhibition that will be showing at Geraldton in [Western Australia] in May.

Janos Gabris Hungary, 1959 Domenico Galano Italy, 24/4/1952 My feeling was one of desolation. I felt that I had

been abandoned by the Italian government and that the Australian government did not care about us. We had been lied to in order to get us to Australia. We found nothing of the things that we had been promised. I felt as if I were in goal.

9 months, Block 1

Bruno Gennari Italy, 5/1956 Cosimo Giambertone Italy, 12/8/1960 Kangaroos, cooking spaghetti, topping with ice

cream. 17 days, Hut 11

Maria Elizabeth Giarrusso (née Minten)

Netherlands, 10/1/1960 I nearly lost my life in the weir while swimming. My father pulled me out of the water when he saw bubbles on the water’s surface. I was 3½ years old. I don’t remember anything else.

Mirja Anneli Giustinian Finland, 1/1960 It was very hot. Gerhard Glabbatz Germany, 13/6/1961 2–3 months, Hut 26/5,6 Block

13 Anna Glowacka Germany, July 1949 A story my mother told me about Bonegilla was of the

time she managed to get a torn bedsheet with the hope of making some undies for me and other children. She went into town to try and get some elastic. She had no English language. She tried to use signs and gestures to indicate something that went from 6 inches to 12 inches, but to no avail. Then in frustration she tried to reach for the gentleman’s waist to show him the elastic in his underwear, but she was most embarrassed. (So was he – was this the first case of sexual harassment?) I never did find

1 month

out if she eventually got some elastic and I got my undies.

Anna Goethals (née DeKoning)

Holland, 13/12/1952 Sickness of children and hunger. 9 months, Block 13 and 15

Joseph Gojdics Hungary, 10/5/1957 Friends and I went fishing in some creek without a permit. We all got into strife. Not understanding the language, we didn’t realise we had to have a licence to fish. The weir was full of snakes, many hanging from the branches of the trees. I enjoyed the porridge for breakfast.

3 months

Alfredo Gonnella Italy, 4/1952 Life in Bonegilla, and the difficulties of not understanding the language.

Thomas Grabau Germany, 6/1954 When I commenced school in Mowbray, Launceston, Tasmania, in year 4, I could not speak a word of English. The headmaster at the school utilised the ‘buddy system’ where one Aussie child and one migrant child spent time away from the normal classroom so the English language could be learnt. I was and still am most impressed with that idea.

4 weeks

Klaus Graesscin Germany, 8/1961 [At] 18, everything is a big adventure. We made canoes out of roofing iron, and went boating on the Hume [Weir].

Alexander Grieve Scotland, 11/1952 We arrived as a family. I was 16 at the time, in November. The heat, I remember, and the sounds of the birds – magpies, kookaburras – were strange to us. I [saw] my first snake at Bonegilla. I loved the weather, but my mum did not. And the latrines were awful, I remember!

Bucura Grigg Italy, 10/1957 Lots of exploring as a child. The very large picture 22 months, Block 19

theatre. Trijintje Groot Holland, 13/10/1959 Being fed porridge upon arrival, and having to

dispose of fruit upon arrival at the NSW/Vic border with no explanation [as to why].

12 months, Hospital block

Peter Gropel Czech Republic, 22/9/1949 Home? Departure for the Cowra holding centre. Approx. 3 months Candida Grusovin Italy, Sept. 1955 None, I was two years old. Dymphie Hall (née Haesen) Holland, 3/1956 Ice cream, and playing with other children. 4 days Helmut Halm Germany, 18/4/1954 Administration lost my records. After five weeks, and

with all my mates gone, I enquired why I was still here. Two days later I was in Adelaide. Mind you, I still received the unemployment benefit (the only time in my life).

5 weeks

Maria Hanger Hungary, May 1957 Block 23 Barry John Hartnell UK, 8/1951 The long brown grass. The toilets were long lines of

holes in a wooden bench above a giant hole. Behind a timber wall behind you was another row of holes for the women. The same pit. The surrounding walls were made of hessian.

6 months

Ruth Heincke (née Tafel) Germany, Jan/Feb. 1953 The heat, the flies and the possums, and swimming a lot.

Werner Heincke Germany, Jan/Feb. 1953 Satu Heiskanen Finland, 10/1958 I don’t remember much, as I was a child of four.

However, I do remember getting new shoes, which hurt – but I think that was at Broadmeadows.

2 months

William and Marie Hejma Czech Republic, 1/1950 Heat, lack of privacy, flies, rabbits! Approx. 2 months Ernst Hellmann Austria, 28/3/1956 My wife G. Schworz was not at Bonegilla. When [she]

came on 6/11/1959 … I picked her up at Port Melbourne. I bought a home at 263 High Street, Wodonga. We were married at St Augustine’s

4 weeks, Block 18

Church, Wodonga, on 1/5/1960 and afterwards [I] worked in Albury at the Woollen Mills and [two or three other] jobs. It was very hard to get accommodation at the start because we [were] not liked. [We were] called ‘wogs’, ‘dagos’, etc. Even our children were called the same at school and sometimes were discriminated against and came home very depressed. The school was so primitive and cold, with no heating or cooling. Many times we were close to [deciding to] go back to Austria.

Richard Hennel Germany, 5/2/1952 [My] first impressions [are] of bare hills and isolation. 8 weeks Gerhrd Hirsch Germany, 17/12/1960 The laidback atmosphere. 7 years Wilhelm and Lieselottct Hirsch

Germany, 2/9/1954 For me it was the miserable conditions in Bonegilla at the time – not so much for myself, but for my family. For my wife it was the generous help and treatment she received at the Albury [Base] Hospital when our second child was born and died there.

4 weeks, Block 13

Ilse Hirv Latvia – Estonia, Nov. 1949

N/A. I was only two years old. 2 months

Peter Hoeben Netherlands, 7/2/1954 I was hospitalised with heat stroke, my wife with premature labour, and [our] daughter with a fractured skull after a fall on the ship. We also have many good memories of our time in Bonegilla and have no regrets [about] coming to Australia, which is now and will always be our home.

8 months

Anna Hoogeboom (née Lentfert)

Holland, 24/11/1959 Getting sunstroke at the Hume Weir, together with my younger sister, and being taken to the Bonegilla Hospital and spending my 14th birthday there.

3 weeks

Magda Hribar Italy, Slovenia, late March I was only a baby at the time, but my parents did Approx. 2 years

or early April 1955 occasionally speak of their time at Bonegilla. One thing that stands out is that I and my two older sisters had whooping cough when there was an outbreak in the camp.

Renate Hussey (née Lorenz) Germany, 13/1/1955 It was very hot, lots of mutton to eat. People were very nice and generous to us. We had plenty to eat, compared to North Germany.

Willi Ihlenfeld Germany, 14/5/1954 Warbling magpies, sunny afternoons, floating rafts on the weir, stinking mutton, English lessons.

6–8 weeks

Margaretha Jacobs Netherlands, 14/4/1962 Two beds to a room – rooms not being interconnected. As an 18–19-year-old girl [I was aware of] lots of single young men, mainly Germans and Yugoslavs, and the arrival of lots of Russians. [I also remember] pictures at the picture theatre and English lessons, school, and having meals at the mess.

8 months, Hut 13 & 14

Marcel Jade Denmark, March 1956 Jette Johnson Denmark, 22/12/1960 All the children received Christmas presents, even

though we arrived on 22/12. My brother started to get better, even though he had nearly died a few days before. As a general rule, it was thought you were ‘stupid’, ‘a moron’, or any like adjective, if you couldn’t speak English. It was seldom realised we knew other things and different languages. I also remember my admiration for people who had enough money to buy a fridge and set themselves up, setting ice cubes, since fans and [air-conditioners] were not common until later.

2 months

Raija Marketta Jordan Finland, 5/11/1958 It was very hot. The older children and adults went to 2 weeks, Block 13

English classes [in the] morning and afternoon – then there was swimming in the lake to cool off. I had a special doll (Kristina) that was stolen, so my mother and her friends went looking to see if they could find it. (The hut doors were to be left ajar during the day.) They saw my doll on a bed and quickly retrieved it without being spotted.

Christian John Joscht Germany, 17/6/1950 Approx. 6 months Selga Judge Latvia, September 1949 My memories of Bonegilla are good. I loved the

nature, the beautiful sunsets. In our spare time we went swimming in the weir, boating, riding, walking. People at work were kind. Two shared a room. … A negative thing was that my mother, my little brother and sister were separated and sent to [another] holding centre. Father had a teaching job at Bonegilla. Later we all found a home in Melbourne, including my sister and her family. Separation of families is not desirable, as refugees have only families left when they start a new life.

Leons, Helene and Dalia Jurevics

Latvian, 1949 I was four years old. I remember the heat. Mum always said she had a happy time except for the mutton! Dad would catch a train during the week, and come home Saturday and Sunday, then he would be off again. Mum (when [Dad] moved to Arncliffe) worked for Morcit Brothers as a housekeeper and cook.

John Kains Latvian, 23/3/1949 Artillery shells on the edge of the weir. Possums. (One had got into bed with a woman, causing a great kerfuffle.) A photo of (my) family in the Border Mail. Strange, chaotic, different, non-threatening; happy,

2 weeks, Family unit, 6 people

essentially. Irina Kakis (née Vasins) Turkestan, 28/11/1947 On the way from Melbourne harbour to Bonegilla, the

large dead trees whose leafless branches stretched towards the sky in the middle of endless paddocks …

Theologos Kalligas Greece, 5/1/1955 Going swimming in the Hume Weir. Approx. 3 months Horst Kebsch Germany, 27/10/1966 The two steps into the huts. Joan Kena Estonia, December 1947 I learnt English for six weeks, then went with a group

of 28 people to the camp at Maitland – by train to Stroud Road. The food: fatty mutton – it was OK, once you got used to it. No complaints. Everything was well organised. [They] turned the big building into smaller rooms using masonite – not perfect, but no complaints. Some people slept in tents. When we went to Maitland, a choir was formed and we’d be taken by bus to entertain at local clubs.

Jadwiga Theresa Kennedy Poland, March 1950–1953 Dawn Kenyon UK, 26/11/1952 Seeing the water sprinklers going whilst it was raining

and wondering why. Now we know. The other [memory] is the awful smell when we got to the Footscray Hostel – situated with the tannery on one side and the abattoir on the other. The smell was very disgusting and all-pervading.

2–3 weeks

Laszlo Kirschner Hungary, 1956 or 1957 Not much; I was too young. [I] just remember some army-style ‘huts’ and bunks. I think I was five or six years or age, so I’m not going to be of much help. I’m mainly writing this to try to find a record of entry into Australia. I was [included] under my mother’s name, as far as I know, but the Australian government has no record of me. As a result, I can’t get a passport

2–3 years

and other papers. I don’t know where my parents are, and I guess they would not help me if I did. If there is any record of me, could you please get in touch any time? Any record of me would be of great help.

John Koene Netherlands, 6/3/1955 Christmas in Bonegilla. We arrived on a Sunday, a few days before Christmas 1967, in Melbourne, on board m.v. Achille Lauro. It was the longest holiday since I started work in 1940. Six weeks! Six weeks of hot weather and no rain. The job hunting in Albury/Wodonga; the answers everywhere: ‘Come back after Christmas.’ The receding water line of Lake Hume. The auto race at the foot of the dam. The boys had caught a turtle; wherever it was put in the camp, it always turned around and headed for the lake. We had not much cash left and, being a Sunday, the banks were not accessible. The immigration officers on Station Pier considered that it would not be possible for me to find housing and a job before Christmas and therefore sent us on to Bonegilla. They left us not much choice, but in hindsight it saved us a lot of misery. Next day I went out to Albury and got the promise of a job as a draftsman with a manufacturer of agricultural machinery. However, it had to wait until the Christmas holidays were over. That was three weeks of doing nothing. After Christmas I went to the management office to see if there was maybe a temporary job for me in the camp. Yes, they had [one]! Lawn mowing. Anything is better than nothing. I got the mower and the lawn

to mow. All went fine and after some time the machine ran out of petrol. The foreman gave me a key to a shed, with the message that the two-stroke was in the yellow can. There were several yellow cans in the shed and I took the closest one. The two-stroke had a different colour than that I used in Europe for my motorbike. Also, it smelled different. But after all, this is a different country and continent. I started the mower again and everything went nicely. The mower smoked a bit and the exhaust gas had a strange smell. But who worries? After some time the mower ran slower and slower, and smoked more and more, until it finally gave up. The machine had to be taken apart and cleaned out. The two-stroke petrol, in the yellow can I used, was Mortein [fly spray]. I was not given another job, [but] I cannot blame them! After Christmas the bank released our money. A visiting Dutchman, in Bonegilla on holiday, found us a furnished house in Melbourne and picked us up in his car. Two days later I was back behind the drawing board. Things were easy in those days.

Ziggy Koenigseder Bremerhaven, January 1956

We were put on a ‘red rattler’ [train] bound for Bonegilla. What a culture shock that was. Most of us were from Europe and were used to living in big cities in apartments. So, here we were, in the middle of the bush, the Hume Weir, half-finished Nissan huts with iron roofs, army beds, and two rough grey army blankets each. [They were] hot during the day, freezing at night. The canteen served unrecognisable food, which was inedible; the lavatory and showers

were halfway across the compound, with lizards, mice and snakes hiding in the rafters. Mind you, these were migrants who were desperately needed by Australia to work on the railways, the Snowy Mountains Scheme and factories, so obviously the powers that be did not follow through once these migrants arrived. Instead of settling them in Melbourne, close to public transport, accommodation and prospective employers, they dumped us all in the middle of nowhere, with no prospect of employment. Finally the men jumped a train to Melbourne, found jobs for themselves, came back on the train, picked up the wife and kids, and either found accommodation (very scarce) in Melbourne, or relocated to Broadmeadows Army Camp, a halfway camp for migrants. Perhaps it would have been much better to put everyone up at Broadmeadows in the first place. Mind you, I was only nine years old then, but I remember it all as vividly as if it were yesterday.

Leposavia Kitic Serbia, 12/4/1958 My 18th birthday in Bonegilla’s Hall. 2 years, Block 19 Frederic Kleitsch Yugoslavia, October 1950 The shock of the primitive barracks, the blowflies on

the meat, the possums in the roof, [the slow mail deliveries], etc.

2½ months

Dieter Klier Germany, 29/3/1954 Heat (unbearable), the arid landscape, boiled mutton and mutton sausages, homesickness for family in Europe, moving around Victoria, stepfather looking for work after leaving Bonegilla.

5–6 weeks. Block 13, Hut 11

Gertrud Elizabeth Kmieciak (née Frerker)

Germany, December 1956 Our first Christmas [tree] at Bonegilla was a pine tree branch with gold and silver decorations that Mum and Dad folded from cigarette papers.

Modra Koch Latvia, June 1949 Sitting on the hut steps at the age of eight years, nursing other little children in the camp. Also, standing around a little heater (wood) in the early hours of the morning, feeling very cold. Eating half-cold greasy chops.

Ivan Kolacko Slovenia, 20/10/1966 A very nice, free feeling; being able to learn. I believe this was a proper step in becoming a very proud ‘Aussie’ with a family, and I will always be grateful to Australia.

Elisabeth Kool (née Worm) Holland, 5/7/1954 The whales when we approached Fremantle. The hills and the houses with wrought iron on the way to Bonegilla. The toilets. (As I was only 13 years old, they seemed very deep and frightening.) My father was in Kilmore; my mother was on her own with ten children ranging [in age] from 14 down to 1 and expecting another. We were very close to a Greek boys camp, so it was very scary for my older sister and myself. Food, I thought, was good. Very cold at night. Another thing I remember is my mother was hospitalised and us ten children were sent to a crèche that was run by Germans.

4 weeks

Frank Kool Holland, 30/7/1958 Five degrees Celsius below, two grey army blankets, one bar heater. Empty green hills; huge wood fires in the paddocks everywhere. Missing the train in the [morning] to Benalla and then to Shep[parton]. I [thought I’d] wait for ten minutes for the next one (train). Eight hours later, at 2 pm, [I finally got on the train] to Benalla. [It arrived at] 3.30pm, and I missed the connecting bus to Shepp. Paid 7 pounds for a taxi to Shepp. [I also remember] verbal fighting of

7 days

Dutch women for laundry space! (I was on my own.) Dimitrious Koolouris Greece, 20/2/1955 [I] vividly recall chasing rabbits and swimming in the

lake. 2 weeks, Hut 6, Block 10

George Koomoukelis Greece, 14/6/1953 [I remember] the day we – 290 Greeks and 600 other Europeans – disembarked from the ship. They put males and females in separate halls with our things, all the men naked and [they] disinfected us. The same with the females. And after six hours’ travelling by train we got to Bonegilla to meet our superintendant.

One month, Block 5

Alexander Joseph Kosnic Germany, 14/6/1953 The camp was dirty and cold; the food adequate and plentiful. The countryside was very nice.

4 weeks

Eddie Kozlowski Germany, 1952 My most vivid memory of Bonegilla is sitting under a huge gumtree in the heat of the summer and playing with large, multicoloured Christmas beetles, while trying to avoid giant bull-ants busily building their nest mounds in the dry, powdery earth.

Approx. 9 months

Frida Kuhn Germany, 29/7/1949 Walking to English language classes, being bombarded by black-and-white birds [magpies]. Extremely cold weather. Walking to Wodonga to shop. Also, traffic moving on the opposite side [of the road compared] to Europe.

Annette Kunelius Netherlands, 10/1/1960 Not many [memories], as I was too young. I know it was very hot at that time.

Lauri Kunelius Finland, 12/1/1960 Lake Hume and school. Hut 14–21 Bruno Laghi Italy, 28/2/1952 Hunting rabbits, swimming in the lake, and fishing. Block 11, Hut 2 Hans-Juergen Lang Germany, 1/9/1954 We arrived at 10 pm, no station, in the middle of

nowhere. We had to walk to the camp with our suitcases. I remember our first meal in the still-

One month

existing mess hall: mutton chops, at 11 pm. The nights were very cold. The beds were made out of fencing wire with a thin mattress on top. We never had the chance to visit Wodonga or Albury.

Erhard Lausch Germany The long trip from Melbourne to Bonegilla. It was warm. A comment by one of the earlier arrivals – that he [had already been] at the camp [for] two years – helped me to [leave quickly], by taking any job on offer. The accommodation was basic but clean.

2 days, Hut 2

Erick Laydet France, June 1970 Cold; not easy to take a shower at this time. Melting pot of nationalities. Singing ‘God Save the Queen’ every day at the primary school. Planting trees with the school. Sheep contest in Albury.

Ruth Layt Germany, 29/7/1949 Lake Hume and the cold weather. We arrived in July and it was freezing. I also remember walking into Wodonga to go shopping with my mother.

John Levay Hungary, 3/3/1950 Shortly after our arrival a Hungarian migrant drowned in the Hume Weir. Large peaches were handed out on a very hot summer’s day.

1 month

Hans-owe Liebich Germany, August 1953 Although I was only four years old, I can still remember having to put on all my available clothing when going to bed in order to stay warm. We only had thin army blankets and there was no heating at all at that time in our hut.

Approx. 6 weeks

Emil Liehm Czechoslovakia, 29/7/1950 The space, rabbiting, socialising and mutton. 3 weeks Mato Lukacevic Croatia, 24/4/1970 Conditions were very hard. The food we didn’t like at

all, and bought food from outside. There was a smell of mutton everywhere. We were there 1½ months, with my wife Katrinda and son Franjo. We moved to

Sydney and I found work in an assembly plant (Morris) for two weeks and then left and started working on a construction site because the money was better. I continued working in construction until 1990.

Laima McArdle Feb. 1950, Latvian We as children lived in paradise – freedom, fresh air, the lake in the summer, tennis, girls’ club, cinema at weekends. Plenty to eat. Ice cream on Thursdays!!! Christmases [were] very hot. Church service at 7 pm in English and German, then lighting the Christmas tree and getting presents. My brother’s job was to water the candles on the tree so they wouldn’t burn the tree down. [We would then] get together with friends and play outside in the hot night till all hours while our parents had get-togethers with other people. When White Russians came …, we had to get immunised – the needle broke in my buttock! I didn’t move. We used to … play mahjong outside in the summer holidays with friends.

17 years, Hospital block

Michalina Machnik Poland, September 1949 Trouble, problems, hardship, language difficulties and Australian attitudes.

1 month

Mai Maddisson Estonia, 12/10/1949 A vast arid space with … long tin houses and snakes. (I didn’t have the faintest idea what these were!)

Christa Magee Germany, December 1953 Mother was desperately ill and taken by ambulance to Melbourne (without her family). Father, younger brother and [my]self stayed on at Bonegilla for a further two months, then were taken to Melbourne just prior to Mother’s death. A fairly horrific introduction to a new life in Australia! Bonegilla itself remains somewhat of a blur.

Margaret Hannah Maguire England, 21/8/1952 I with my husband, David, and three children aged six, four and three years, landed in Melbourne, 25/10/1952 and with other migrants from the ship were sent to Bonegilla. [This] was a real shock, for we hadn’t any idea we were to go into the camps and I can’t say I enjoyed my stay there. After a few weeks we were moved up to Belmont, NSW, into Commonwealth cottages, and were then on our own. We all made our lives and got on quite well. The cottages are still there and some of the migrants still live in them.

Sinikka and Pentti Makela Finland, 18/2/1958 Plenty of good food and a gate to heaven! Hut 2 lot 18, 1 week Borivoj Maksimovic Yugoslavia, 19/12/1959 Extremely hot (arrived just before Christmas). We

went swimming in the lake. 3 months

Guenter Mankowsky Germany, 25/6/1958 On arriving at Bonegilla it was bitterly cold. We did not bring enough warm clothes. ‘Not needed,’ we were told by the embassy in Germany. ‘You’ll be going to a very hot country.’ [The worst thing was, there were] no showers until the water thawed in the pipes. Pay-day was a big event: 10 [shillings] a week in government aid. I was flat broke. My total wealth was 25 pounds on leaving Germany.

Block 14 19/1 Mess 13, approx. 2 weeks

Joanna Margaret Mantle London, 11/7/1951 Dreadful food (and we had survived rationing and shortage of food during the war, so we weren’t used to high cuisine!). Although we spoke English, the locals made it clear we weren’t welcome. Nothing organised for children to do except a few hours of schooling in a hut. We were children and didn’t take much notice. Both Mum and Dad [are] now dead.

Paola Marin (father was Italy, 1952 I am writing this on behalf of my father, who is now 1 year

Rolando Marin) deceased. I thought any information I could supply would be useful to your group, whether good or not so good. Dad thought it was a dreadful place at times, being very bored, and fed mutton for food. Being Italian, it wasn’t the best diet. His most vivid memory was of a friend who travelled around the world [looking] for a better life. Imagine arriving in Melbourne and seeing the industry around Station Pier, and having the opportunity to get off at Fremantle. Nonetheless, Dad – like so many other [migrants] – grew to love Melbourne. Dad had come back to his friend’s hut (I don’t know if it was the same as my father’s hut …), to find his friend had [hanged] himself. Other memories were [of] being moved between Renmark (in NSW) and Somers Camp on the Mornington Peninsula.

Dimitrios Marinellis Greece, 2/7//1968 A lot of memories but impossible to explain in a few words.

Johanne and Eila Martiskis Finland, 4/2/1970 Hot weather, learning the language, fear of the unknown.

Block 7

Jeno George Mate Hungary, September 1949 The incredible emptiness and the heat in summer. Block 24 Zvonimik Frank Matrinich Yugoslavia, early

November 1948 Having my first ever milkshake! 2 months

Charlotte Mayer Hungary, 11/1957 Looking for work. 2 months, Hut 2 Sirke Avlikki Menna Finland, January 1958 The climate (left Finland in winter – snow/ice). Awful

food (not used to it), awful pit toilets (scary). Learning English at the little school there. Teachers Anglicising my name to – heaven forbid – Shirly!!! [There was

an] outbreak of chickenpox, with children dragged off to hospital screaming, confused.

Ibrahim Mesanovic Yugoslavia, 16/1/1964 I shaved my head and got ‘roasted’. Good swimming and races.

Frederick Rudolf Michalski Germany, 24/12/1949 [I remember arriving] with Mother and Father. Jozsef Mikolics Hungary, late January

1957 Enjoyed the sounds of magpies, and the parks at the camp. Also remember the over-supply of lamb chops and lamb stew.

2 weeks

Francisca Johanna Minten Netherlands, 10/1/1960 I did not like the food. Coming from winter into summer (40ºC plus); [it was] boiling hot.

Lydia Mitrovic Russia, 25/5/1950 It was not the camp with so many people of different nationalities or all those barracks that I remember most, as I have been in those back in Germany. It’s the bitter, totally unexpected cold, in those tiny rooms with a gap between the door and the roof, frozen water in the glass in the morning, the torment of getting changed in that temperature (being pregnant didn’t help either), marching to the middle of the camp to wash, bath and shower. Food was plentiful in the communal kitchen, although I was too sick to enjoy it. I remember how crossing the equator and experiencing that heat, everyone on this Norwegian former warship was worried how we would be able to live with that heat in Australia, and here we were so cold.

4 weeks

Dimitrios Mittas Greece, 26/3/1954 Work and health. Imre Molnar Hungary, 6/4/1957 On [our] arrival at Essendon Airport, the 1920s-style

motor cars gave us the impression of stepping back in time by 30–40 years. The train ride from

Melbourne to Bonegilla in a 50-year-old train was a surprise. The country … around Wodonga [was] so arid, after being used to the lush green countryside. My stay at Bonegilla was very pleasant. I enjoyed the warm autumn by fishing, swimming and going to learn English in the camp school.

Jean Molnar Holland, 15/3/1955 [I remember] first my mother being sick in hospital, and my stay in Albury Base Hospital.

3 months, Hut 11

Joseph Molnar Hungary, 11/1/1958 The freedom and friendship and warmth that Australia offered.

Marianne Moore Very hot and dry, in the middle of nowhere. Lots of mosquitoes and insects; very basic accommodation.

Kim Mordchel Poland, 24/5, 1950 The huge amount of good, healthy food that was served. The warm attitudes [of the] camp officers.

Brian Charles Moriarty My father was employed as the finance officer at Bonegilla between approximately 1952 and 1958, and I resided at the camp during that period.

Henry Moulis Czech Republic, 1951 [There was a] tremendous variety of fruit. 1 year John Moyes Netherlands, March/April

1953 Very cold and dusty. The food!!! But altogether fascinating.

2 weeks

Asterios Mylonas 20/2/1955, Greece I remember lining up for breakfast, lunch and tea, and the huts we stayed in.

3 days

Robert Joseph Nagy Hungary, 10/5/1957 The harsh and bleak environment, primitive living conditions, poor-quality food. The kindness of Australian people and [their] willingness to [provide] help when needed.

Heinrich Niederegger Austria, 25/8/1955 The squeaking beds. They made a terrible noise every time one moved.

5 days

Helena and Jozef Nowecki Poland, November 1949 The heat and bareness. 6 weeks, Block C

Helena Ojansuu Finland, 1959 [I was] too young. The smells of the canteen and the ship’s cabin still linger.

Janis Ostrovskis Latvia, September 1949 The wide-open space, with thousands of rabbits around the Bonegilla camp. Plenty of food.

Marguerite and Charles Ostyn

Belgium, 6/4/1967 [It was] like a nice holiday camp, with open spaces and nice weather.

1 month

Aposolos and Sophia Paleologos

Greece, 5/2/1955 As an eight-year-old I remember my mother’s tears, the heat, the cool ice cream we used to buy from the canteen, and lots of men in white singlets playing soccer, or throwing horseshoes on the pole.

4 weeks, Hut 16

Ezika Edith Paskevicius Germany, 1949 Much food, many people, one bed for two, and one-year old daughter Angelika.

2 months

Manfred Patzwald Germany, 26/1/1963 Lovely sunshine, blue sky, and the organisation of the camp.

Ruth Penny Germany, December 1953 The heat, the vastness, cockatoos and not having any relatives (besides own family).

Oho Phiffer Austria, 11/1/1954 I was only 11 years old and I spent two weeks in hospital there.

3 weeks

Czeslawa Ludmila Piccinin Germany, August 1950 The Nissan huts, the food and the cold. Justina Pobezin Slovenia, 8/2/1952 The ugly tin sheds! The heat! The flies! The isolation

of the settlement! The separation from my husband – [my] husband was separated from [me] and [our] daughter Franciska. Not knowing where my husband was working. No English language – despair! The foul smell of mutton!

Several months

Aurelia Pompili Italy, August 1955 I was four years of age. My most vivid memory was of the porridge I was forced to eat.

3 months

Edward and Winifred Pontin England, 6/9/1951 Entertaining with a banjo and dining with staff. 3 weeks Anne Prendiville UK, October 1962 My family was not supposed to be at Bonegilla as we 4 months

were British. However, the bureaucracy of the time deemed that as we had arrived from South Africa on a ship carrying mainly Dutch immigrants, we should not be sent to Benalla. We were shocked by the poverty of many of the other migrants. There were Spanish [migrants] who had never seen a toilet and regularly used the shower cubicles [as a toilet]. However, my most poignant memory is of the Russian migrants. They arrived with practically nothing. What little they had, had to be de-loused. My mother collected clothes from our own family to give to some of these people. Shortly after their arrival we were moved, along with other migrants, to a different part of Bonegilla. It was discovered that many of the Russians had diphtheria and typhoid. They had to be quarantined and we had to have inoculations in spite of our protests that we had been given these shots in South Africa. In our short time at Bonegilla we made many friends among the other migrants. The Russians did not forget my mother’s kindness and, out of quarantine, invited us to a party. Their happiness and gratitude at having survived so much and finally being in Australia is something I will never forget.

Patricia Proctor February 1963 I went to Bonegilla as a teacher. I had a year there. Dan Goonan was principal.

1 year

Hans and Franziska Renner Germany, 25/11/1953 We arrived at Bonegilla at night. After settling in and having our meal, everyone went outside to see the possums.

5 days, Hut 13

Adela Richardson Yugoslavia, July 1950 Being woken in the morning by ABC Radio. 2 months Benite Riskov Denmark, 27/6/1959 The cold wet mud between the barracks. One month Dario and Anna Rossignoli Italy, 13/11/1951 When [we] saw the hut and beds, [we] cried. 2 weeks Michael Rupena Italy, 13/3/1951 A very strange place. 3 months, Block 18 Ekkehard Rupp Germany, September 1966 Swimming across one small section of the Hume

Dam. Very, very cold water. In total, I have nothing but good memories of Bonegilla.

Barbra Rusmanis Germany, 25/11/1953 My wedding at Bonegilla camp in 1956 and the riots there in 1961.

9 years (became CES staff), Block 19 & 15

Rudi John Saba Yugoslavia, 4/1954 Aussie food. Difficulty with the language. Clothing styles. Big thrill on the voyage at sea, with good food and vast oceans. [It was an] adventure of a lifetime to a young child.

Lena and Peter Saboisky Ukraine/Germany, 24/5/1950

Being pregnant, I was not impressed with Uranquinty and with being parted from my husband.

1.5 days

Tiiu-Ann Salasoo (née Jalak) Estonia, December [I remember the] isolation of the camp, and the kind people of Albury/Wodonga.

1½ weeks

Anita Christine Schadlich Germany, 26 December After just a few days at Bonegilla camp in Block 18, my husband drowned in the Hume Weir. It was a terrible start to our life in the ‘New Land’. I found employment in the camp and stayed on for five years, when we shifted to Adelaide, where we still are today.

5 years

Manfred Schafer Germany I arrived at Bonegilla together with my twin brother in 1959, at the age of 18. We travelled from Hamburg by air to Darwin, then to Wagga Wagga, and then by bus to Bonegilla. My most vivid memory is of how cold it was. I was impressed by the friendliness of the Australian supervisors.

Block 17–18

Rita Schembri (née Fabac) Yugoslavia, 10/1/1961 The houses were unusual and the food horrible (the smell of mutton). Country so different. I have included a brief account of my arrival in the visitors book. Tolerance – there was none in 1961; now things are much easier for refugees and migrants. It was very hard to learn English in 1961. There was no help in camp, then. Always hoping my life in this new country would be better than this. Also, the corrugated iron and the heat!

Maria and Anton Schoengen Germany, 5/7/1957 The wattle trees. 3 months Rieveld-Ada Scholten Holland, 25/11/1955 The train trip to Wodonga seemed [to take] all day

[from Melbourne]. Lunch at Benalla, then a bus trip to the camp. A friend’s suitcase caught fire! [It was] too close to the engine. My sister was in the hospital nearly the whole time we were in Bonegilla. She was eight years old. I was 17. We went for long walks, discovered a ‘lake’, went swimming. English lessons. And then we were separated from Dad, [who got ] a job in Ararat! We were moving to Somer Camp and then to Broadmeadows.

4 weeks

Herbert Schott W. Germany, 17/4/1961 [I remember] swimming across the lake! 3 weeks Eberhard Schuster Germany, 8/1958 Nothing to do except learn English and play cards

with other migrants. And wait to get a job. 2 months

Gioacchino Sciancalepore Italy, 1/4/1952 Catching rabbits with a stick. Running them down to eat because there was not much food.

1 month

Luigi Sciulli Italy, 15/3/1952 The first day I was there I thought it was a prison camp.

4 months

Brigette Renate Sertic Germany, 11/1949 I took the job in the hotel as a sort of Christmas holiday job. But everybody had been so kind and

5 weeks

friendly I stayed until my daughter Claudia was born. Even so, I was German and the war had not long been over. People, also the ‘customers’, were extremely friendly. They were simple people, barflies and drank a lot, but they made me feel at home, wanted and loved. Ill never forget that.

Horst Bernhard Siegesmund Germany, 2/12/1962 Heat (112ºF on arrival) after Germany (15º below). Food (inedible, smell of mutton, baked beans, yuk). Flies (unbearable). Accommodation (shared with 19 other young men, 20 to a hut). The work that was promised for tradesmen was not available when we arrived. The authorities wanted to send us to the factories to work on the production line as labourers. (Very low pay.)

3 months, Block 19, Hut 82

Albertha Simpson Holland, 24/6/1952 The wattle that made me sneeze and the after-effects of eating mutton.

2 months

Esad Skalic Yugoslavia/Bosnia, late in 1960

Driving from the camp to Markwood, we stopped to have a cold beer in a pub about halfway there and there was nobody there. Hotels in Europe are packed all the time. What a shock!

1 week

Anna Sliwinski (née Waszkiewicz)

Poland, 29/12/1949 I am most sorry to say I have no vivid memories. In going back to Bonegilla in 1997 I remember the little pink flowers growing in the fields, the wooden stairs leading to each door, the windows and the rows of doors. In 1997 my disappointment at the lack of any activity at Bonegilla cannot be put into words. It’s only by chance I came across the railway station. To me the station was most moving – a siding in the emptiness of Australian land, a scary new beginning for Australia’s new citizens.

Geraldine Smit Holland, 23/3/1957 My parents moved to Australia in 1957. [They] arrived at Bonegilla in March of that year. I have good memories of the time I was there, with two older brothers of 20 and 22 years and a younger sister of 11 years. Because we were all older it was like a sort of holiday. We did lots of walking to the Hume Reservoir. My father nearly drowned in the lake there. My father wanted to settle in the Adelaide Hills. He got a job there, so we did not stay long [at Bonegilla]. We were there for about ten days. And because it was only a short time we did not get our suitcases. They were sent to Glenelg Hostel where my father was staying.

10 days

Richard James Steiner Australia, 23/12/1953 [I remember] joining my father who was greeting a trainload of new arrivals at the Bonegilla station one evening, and accompanying my dad to inspect the admin building after the riot.

Ten years

Mrs Stewart (née Lane) Latvia, 28/11/1947 Since I had little knowledge of Australia the first weeks were full of surprises. Like the heat! Fremantle greeted us with a temperature of 100ºF. The huge waves tossed us about on the ocean. The haze around the grey-green leaves of the eucalyptus. The sharp grass seeds in the paddocks – we missed the meadows. The people were friendly …

10 days

Yvonne Stoeger Austria, 11/1958 The mess hall, the lake and the school. I remember a very free and happy time as a child there.

3 years

Ernst Sudnik Germany, 24/10/1953 I arrived with a bunch of young fellows, all adventurers, and I think we all coped very well. Had a ball.

18 days

Maas and Filomena Sukkel Holland, 5/8/1953 Possums coming in the hut at night, cold and wet. 9 months

But [I have] very fond memories of Bonegilla. Janos and Iren Sveller Yugoslavia, 15/12/1970 To be greeted in a new country with much warmth,

kindness and to be looked after so well, including food, accommodation and financial help. Vivid memory of the recreational activities (fishing and swimming).

28 days

Mrs Szkudelski (née Tworkowski)

Poland, 3/1950 I was nearly five years old and I can remember the heat and the marches – walking the children to water. I assume it would have been Lake Hume.

Sandor Janos Szoklik Hungary, 13/2/1957 The stench of mutton, boiling-hot days and freezing nights in the tin huts. Lovely swimming. I remember a visit to Albury, [where I was] taken by a friend from Melbourne. They would not allow me into the hotel for lunch because I did not have a tie! I was a refugee!

2–3 weeks

Ray T Finland, 3/1959 Mid-winter cold. Barren facilities but acceptable, especially in the circumstances.

Maria Terhaar Netherlands, 14/5/1956 The weather, hot; the moon, big. The food, and the hospital, church.

2½ years, Hut 14

Paulina Wilhelmina Tesusen Holland, 7/8/1959 Wide-open spaces, magpies and kookaburras, beautiful days and cold mornings. A totally exciting adventure to an 11-year-old.

6–7 weeks

Johannes Kapel Tol Holland, 24/7/1952 The surge of adventure of being in a new country. 2 weeks, Block 21 Juliet Tootell (née Sullivan) My family were not migrants. My father was a doctor

and superintendent of the Bonegilla Hospital. My mother taught at the school. I have very fond memories of Bonegilla.

7 years

Paavo Olavi Torkkola Finland, 10/1959 Canteen, film theatre, the food. 4 months, Hut 14 and 18 Arja Salme Tovanen Finland, 7/1/1960 Running over hot tar and getting my feet burnt –

staying in hospital. Irene Tragsasi Hungary, 15/1/1950 [My memories are] very clouded; no memory of the

hut or block. [I] had problems with the food. 4–6 weeks

Sible Travaille Holland, 12/2/1955 Swimming in the Hume Weir. Alma Trento Italy, 10/6/1954 Wide-open spaces. [I] could not believe how big

Australia was. 2 months

Leo Tsimbas Greece, 11/4/1954 Swimming at the lake, playing soccer amongst ourselves.

Block 22

Kiriakos Tsinaslanidis Greece, 11/1954 My son came down with chickenpox and had to be hospitalised.

6 months

Ludvik and Angela Tusek Slovenia, 15/1/1950 Arrival at Bonegilla on a hot night after disembarkation and train travel from Port Melbourne. Separation of families and, again, men and women. My brother ten years, myself 11 years, with Father in the men’s hut. Unlined tin huts.

4 months

Roman and Frances Ursic Slovenia, 5/9/1951 Our stay in Bonegilla was brief. But I remember it as being very different from what we were accustomed to and therefore a very harsh life.

14 days

Michael Leon Van de Ghinste Belgium, 9/1968 The great scenery around the lake with incredible large and wild birds. I knew I would love this country. I made several friends for life in Bonegilla. Food was surprising (fluoro green jelly at dessert, something unknown to Belgians), but okay. [I remember] our sympathetic English teacher, who had a lot of patience. The ‘western-looking’ town of Wodonga.

5 weeks

Wilhelmiena Van den Brand Holland, 7/1952 The scenery, the food. 8 months Anna Maria and Johannes Van den Hout

Holland, 25/10/1955 The heat in the huts during the day and the cold at night, and the terrible food.

2 weeks

Van der Meer Holland, 7/1952 Hitchhiking through Australia to get work anywhere. 2 weeks

Jack and Toos Van der Werf Netherlands, 4/8/1953 [We] arrived in Melbourne by ship with five children … Arrived in Bonegilla at night on the 4th of August, cold and wet.

2 months

Maria Van Leeuwen Netherlands, 16/9/1952 [I remember] descending from the bus on arrival and falling flat in the mud. And it was cold. Adults and children shared a bed because it was so cold.

Approx. 3 months

Peter Van Mourik Holland, 12/6/1952 Cold nights, wattle in bloom, strange food. 2 weeks Michael Van Wanrooy Netherlands, 8/1952 The event that made the most impression on me was

my stay in the hospital in the isolation ward. I was five years old at the time of arrival. It was very strange. I couldn’t speak English and I was unable to have contact with my parents. However, once out of hospital and able to get about, I enjoyed excursions in the Bonegilla bus and walks to the Hume Weir.

2 months

Hendrikus Hermanus Van Wegen

Netherlands, 20/5/1950 Arriving at Bonegilla at 3 am on a freezing morning in May, waiting in an open paddock for a bus to take us to camp and people stripping bark off the trees to light fires. The bare huts with wire beds. Not a chair or curtain. We raided the wood heap to furnish the two small rooms for the eight people in our family, Mum, Dad and six kids. Not being able to speak the language and, together with another young friend, thumbing a lift to Albury and back. Heating river stones on the stove in the recreation room to take to bed to get some warmth. The strange food. The millions of rabbits in the hills. Good tucker. The surprise of seeing all those mountains after flat and green Holland.

Augusto Vascotto Italy, 5/1955 A possum scared my wife. 4 weeks

Hajrulla Vela Albania, 26/4/1950 Going to the pictures. 6 months Erika Luise Veleff Switzerland, 18/12/1948 Very hot, very dry. Martin John Vels Holland, 3/10/1953 The wattle trees at Bonegilla, and the surrounding

hills. On my first visit to Albury with my mate, we hitchhiked.

Clorinda Vigliotti Italy, 1/5/1959 First meal received in Australia was a hot dog. The tomato sauce was too sweet.

3 weeks

Claudio Villegas Spain, 10/8/1961 Uncertainty of the future!! 3 months Karl Vint Estonia, 28/4/1949 Walked to Albury or Wodonga. Lots of rabbits and

snakes. 2 weeks

Aldo Viselli Italy Very cold. [There was a] revolt because there were not enough jobs to go around.

Block 3

Heinz Vojacek Germany, 12/1960 The long railway station in the middle of the night, the terrible food, the heat and the flies.

3 days

Kurt Herman Wannag Germany, 19/12/1953 It was very, very hot. I worked from 5 am till 1 pm every day washing dishes in the kitchen. My wife liked to swim in the Hume Weir to cool down. We bought the Age [newspaper] every Saturday to look for jobs and a place to live in Melbourne. After three months at Bonegilla, I decided that I needed to go to Melbourne in order to get a job. The employment agency in the camp was only interested in us working for the railway and I did not want to do that. So I left the camp one day without permission on my own. My wife and two young daughters stayed behind. I caught a train and within three days secured an interview with a company called Wilcolator – it made electric switches for home appliances. They had advertised for a draftsman. I had an interview with

3 months

the general manager, a Mr Sid Menzies, who was the brother of then prime minister, Robert Menzies. My interview was successful and I was given the job. Sid Menzies rang the head commander of Bonegilla to arrange for my wife and daughters to leave for Melbourne directly. The commander was reluctant, as I had left the camp without permission. Sid Menzies told the commander that he was the brother of the prime minister and would happily take the matter further. My wife and daughters arrived in Melbourne two days later.