“They built modern Australia”: Council to pay homage to its migrant history
Image: Gordon James Choake holding his baby daughter Marilyn Wilson at the Bunnerong Migrant Hostel 1951-1953. (Marilyn Wilson Collection, Randwick City Library)
by AARYAN KAPOOR and GRACE JOHNSON
Between 1947 and 1951, vast numbers of migrants came to Sydney from a war-torn Europe. The migrant hostel in Maroubra’s Heffron Park was where many had their first experiences of Australia.
Woolstore buildings erected during the Second World War were converted to accommodation with a capacity of 1200. However, as the buildings were meant for storage and not accomodation, they were not properly insulated. Migrants were also forced to eat in a dormitory-style hall, which prevented them from leading a normal family life.
According to their archives, Randwick Council was supportive of the migrants, who had enlisted the help of local politicians.
In an effort to pay homage to the contributions migrants made to the area, Independent councillor Noel D’Souza put forward a motion asking that a memorial be installed in their honour at Heffron Park.
“It’s all about acknowledging the contribution of migrants who made sacrifices and worked hard to build a better Australia,” he told City Hub.
Discussing the difficulties migrants endured upon arriving in Australia, Cr D’Souza said, “Migrants were willing to take menial jobs when first settling. Many migrants showed a disposition to hard work and sacrifice in order to establish themselves in their new country.”
“They built modern Australia by the knowledge, culture, and skills they brought with them.”
In his address to council during their most recent meeting, Cr D’Souza discussed the importance of a display that commemorates migrants, especially as they were “essential to the growth of industry and infrastructure in Australia’s post-war years”.
As much of the history of migrants has been forgotten, a memorial would also be an opportunity for ‘truth telling’, said the councillor.
The move has come during recent debates surrounding “historic statues and their relevance and significance to modern Australia.”
Cr D’Souza said, “I look at this opportunity for ‘truth telling’ to tell the forgotten history of the contributions of migrants from all over the world who left their country of birth, their culture, their family, and friends to start a new life full of hope.”
The motion was carried.
A monument or memorial would be most preferable, said Cr D’Souza, but “even a big granite rock with a plaque as we did outside the Heffron Centre would also be awesome.”
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