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25.01.2022 This ceramic wine cask with wicker work surrounding it and sacking around the opening (cork missing) stands 240mm wide x 390mm high. It belonged to Mistica and Giacomo Filippi and was kept in their cellar when they moved out of their Shellharbour Street house to their home in Hoskins Street Steeltown towards the end of 1934. It had been kept as a family heirloom by their daughter Rina Montgomery. The wine cask was used when buying wine from a Wollongong wine merchant, Mr F...ilippi (no relative). Mr Borgo took over the business and it became Borgo’s Wine. The wine cask was also used by the Filippi family for storing their homemade wine. Before they could purchase wine from shops in Wollongong Rina’s family would buy it from De Bortoli’s in Griffith NSW. At that time wine could only be bought it in very large quantities in wooden kegs and it was sent by rail. As a young girl, Rina used to have to walk from the family home to the Port Kembla Railway goods shed and wait with the wine for her father to collect them. By 1938 when her father owned a Buick the wine casks wouldn’t fit in the car and so it had to be brought home from the railway station with their horse and sulky. Image Migration Heritage Project courtesy of oral history interview conducted November 2004 by the Migration Heritage Project with (the late) Rina Montgomery, founding member of the MHP. #migrationheritage #migranthistory #localhistory #wollongong See more

24.01.2022 Steelhaven Hostel was located in on Five Islands Road (near Wattle Street) in Port Kembla. It was acquired by AI&S in 1949 for its migrant workforce and was demolished in 1969. Learn more about the years in between on the MHP website via the link. #migrantheritage #migranthistory #wollongong #wollongonglocalhistory #warrawong #portkembla #steelhaven #steelworks #AIS #migranthostels

24.01.2022 For many migrant children school can be a confusing and often lonely place. One event that many people do remember is their First Holy Communion. Do you remember your First Holy Communion? Share a memory of the day. I don’t remember receiving the sacrament but I do remember the itchy petticoat under my dress and the party that was held in the kindergarten room after the mass.’’ Darinka.... #migrantheritage #migranthistory #migrantchildren #wollongong #wollongonghistory #localhistory

22.01.2022 When spoken of today, quite often the iron huts that were used at migrant hostel camps in Wollongong are only referred to as the Nissen Huts but there were other types of iron huts in addition to the Nissen that were purchased by the Commonwealth Government to use at their migrant hostel camps throughout Australia. For the Commonwealth Government to be ready to meet its obligation to the International Refugee Organisation to accommodate Displaced Persons and their dependants... the Quonset and Nissen huts were chosen knowing they were of the minimum standard with bare necessities but with the least impact on the post-WW2 housing programme. Quonset Huts, the Nissen Huts’ American cousins, were purchased from the US Government’s former WW2 military base at Manus Island and Nissen Huts were purchased from the British Government. At migrant hostel camps Quonset Huts were used for administrative, dining, kitchen and recreational purposes, and until the arrival of Nissen Huts, for emergency type of dormitory accommodation. In late November/early December 1948, 19 Balts were sent to Manus Island to dismantle the Quonset Huts for transfer to Australia and they were joined by another 22. The first delivery of Nissen Huts to Australia took place in June 1949 at a rate of 80 per month. By then 540 Quonset Huts had already arrived in Australia from Manus Island. How are they different? Nissen huts feature interior framing made of metal or wood and metal sheeting is then bolted on top. Quonset Huts did not require any internal framework making their construction as simple as bolting arched panels together and were much easier than Nissen Huts to expand in size. So next time you go past the former hostel site at Fairy Meadow, you will now have a little bit of history on how the huts were chosen and their differences. The current child care centre is a Quonset Hut with additions built on and was used for the kitchen, dining hall and butchers. The UOW Used Book Store was a former staff residence and the other hut is a Nissen Hut and was the former laundry exchange. But more important than any of the buildings were the people who lived in them and the MHP would like to capture their history as well, so if you would like to participate in sharing your migrant stories please email the MHP at [email protected] #migrantheritge #migrationheritage #migranthostels #wollongong #wollongonghistory #austalianhistory

22.01.2022 Karingal Hostel was located on the corner of Five Islands Road and Springhill Road in Cringila. It was built in 1948 by AI&S for its migrant workforce and was demolished in 1984. Learn more about the years in between on the MHP website via the link. #migrantheritage #migranthistory #wollongong #wollongonglocalhistory #cringila #steelworks #AI&S #migranthostels

22.01.2022 The game of Bocce (Italian) and Bocci (Maltese) are similar. Pre WW2 Italian migrants had to visit homes of other Italians who had set up a private Bocce court in their backyards as there was nowhere else available for them to enjoy this game. Post WW2 migrants would help create and build local clubs like the Fraternity in Fairy Meadow that not only provided the venue to play bocce but fostered and promoted Australia-wide competitions with other clubs. By the 1980s, Italia...n women were no longer just spectators and began to play Bocce socially and in local competitions like the men, as well as competed in regional and national competitions. Similarly, the George Cross Falcons Club built by Wollongong’s Maltese community, had their own Bocci courts built by their members at the back of their club in Cringila. Do you know of any other game like Bocce and Bocci that other cultural groups brought to Wollongong and played in our region? #migrantheritage #migranthistory #italian #maltese #wollongonghistory #localhistory

21.01.2022 On 15 August 2020 Australia commemorated 75 years since the end of World War 2. Another significant anniversary occurred a month earlier on 13 July 2020 which was 75 years since the Department of Immigration was formally established and Arthur Calwell appointed as the first Minister for Immigration. Populate or Perish. A larger population was needed for Australia's security and in answer to critical labour shortages. Starting with refugees, Displaced Persons, nominated a...nd unnominated British migrants and British assisted migration schemes, the Australian Government expanded its migration schemes to other European Countries and participated in the Colombo Plan for Asian countries. By 1951 85% of industrial expansion in NSW was in the Port Kembla area. This percentage is evidence of the significant part Illawarra played in the success of Australia’s migration schemes and the amazing contribution of migrants who were sent here to work. Many Illawarra employers built their own workers’ hostels such as AI&S Karingal and Steelhaven Hostels, Water Board’s ‘Balts’ Camp, Lysaght’s Hill 60, Newbold Bricks Hostel, the railway camps, EPT, Transfield. In Wollongong the Commonwealth Hostels were Unanderra, Balgownie (Fairy Meadow) and Berkeley Hostels. Commonwealth Housing Estates, using prefabricated houses, were constructed for British migrant miners in Dapto, Unanderra, Bulli and Helensburgh. Can you name any other hostels or Commonwealth housing developments in Wollongong? #migranthistory #migrationhistory #migration #wollongong #wollongonghistory #britishmigrants #europeanmigrants Photographs: Slide 1: New Arrivals, Displaced Persons Camp F, Germany, 1946, Source: Museums Victoria. Slide 2: Land of Tomorrow poster, Designer: Joe Greenberg, Museums Victoria. Slide 3: Nicol family travelled to Australia on Cameronia, NAA: A8139, Volume 8 and Slide 4: Balgownie Hostel, NAA: A12111, 1/1957/22/20, both courtesy of the National Archives of Australia. Slide 5: Commonwealth Housing Estate Dapto, 1950s, MHP Places Project 2007.

20.01.2022 Spare a thought (and a thank you) for the staff who were employed at Commonwealth Migrant Hostels. In the last Facebook post by the Migration Heritage Project was the story about one of the larger intakes experienced at Balgownie Hostel that started in October 1964, but before any new migrant stepped foot into a hostel much needed to be prepared to have everything ready within the limitations of the Commonwealth Hostels Ltd organisation. Hostel staff, some migrants themselv...es, were employed across the three Commonwealth Hostels in the Illawarra. Commonwealth Government hostels were usually designed on the basis of 400 residents per unit, plus staff. Commonwealth Government Hostel staff in the Illawarra looked after a combined 8 hostel units: 2 units at Unanderra, 2 units at Berkeley and 4 units at Balgownie (Fairy Meadow). The information and image for this post was researched and prepared by the Migration Heritage Project, a not-for-profit community group located in Wollongong, NSW. If you are viewing this post on another Facebook (or Instagram) page (thank you for sharing) we would really appreciate it if you would visit the Migration Heritage Project Facebook page and like our page. By doing so you will be helping us grow our audience (thank you if you have already liked and followed the MHP). If you are sharing this post to another page please attribute the post to the Migration Heritage Project. Thank you. #migrantheritage #migranthistory #migranthostels #wollongonghistory #balgowniehostel #unanderrahostel #berkeleyhostel #unanderra #berkeley #fairymeadow

20.01.2022 Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2021 Thank you for following the MHP on Facebook and Instagram

19.01.2022 We are spoilt for choice thanks to the variety of pasta sauces you can buy off the supermarket shelves or the simpler versions you may find in delicatessens today. But back in the day, these were not so readily available and so the tradition of making homemade passata was born. The traditions may still be followed by some but the practice of making it yourself has given way to the easier option of just buying it at the shops. The video below is one person’s recollection of the days homemade passata was made in her parent’s backyard with all the family pitching in. #migrantheritage #italianheritage #migranthistory #localhistory #wollongong

18.01.2022 Join Aunty Lorraine Brown and her sister Narelle Thomas for some fantastic Indigenous local history and dreamtime story-telling about how Mt Keira got its name. ABC Illawarra

18.01.2022 A Migrant Youth Guard of Honour of approximately 206 migrant children, who represented 32 different nationalities, wore national dress as they formed a guard of honour when Queen Elizabeth II visited Wollongong on 10 April 1970. The guard of honour was organised by the Good Neighbour Council and was formed to bring attention to the cosmopolitan character of Wollongong that had developed through the migrants that had come to area. Among the nationalities represented in the h...onour guard were Estonians, Turks, French, Chinese, Polish, Greek, Hungarian, Spaniards, Austrian, Maltese, German, British, Ukraine and Romanian. Liina Aarn, who was in her sixth year of school at Port Kembla and a Duke of Edinburgh Gold Medal contestant spoke with the Duke at the reception that was held in the Town Hall. Some of the children who formed the honour guard and were mentioned in the Illawarra Mercury were: Julianne Rainow, Maria Molnar, Petra Balacz, Marianna Hegyi, Ilona Zakara, Livia Habda, Ibolya Kiss, Grabriella Taylor, Bernhard and Corrie Dymet, triplets Lawrence, Rank and Marianne Gerada, Pocrates Delios, Raymond D’Amato, Charlie Grech, Anamaria Senor, Catalina Rizzo, Alicia Valleja, Helga Monks, Jutta Zatschler, Michael and Steven Heddington, Debbie and Lynette Williams, twins Nan and Joan Young, Mary Jatras, Vasiliki Avanitis, George and Maria Chartas, Vicka Madre. Do you recognise any of these names or were you one of these children? Illawarra Mercury, 9 & 16 April 1970. Image Marianna Hegyi, Ibolya Kiss and Gabriella Taylor in the Hungarian national dress for the visit by the Queen in 1970, Illawarra Mercury, 16 April 1970.

17.01.2022 Traditional Greek Dress. The 400 folds in the skirt represent the 400 years that Greece was under Ottoman rule. The stockings would originally have been covered by leggings in the same fabric as the skirt. During the revolution of 1821 against the Ottoman Empire, Greek men wore this costume and it continues to have great significance to all Greeks. The Greek community celebrates Independence Day through the words of poems and songs. Everyone tries to dress in blue and white, the Greek national colours, or in the Greek national costume. #migrantheritage #migranthistory #wollongong #localhistory #greek #greektraditions #communitycelebrations Photographs & Text Migration Heritage Project from Celebrations: Spirit of Communities Exhibition September 2003

17.01.2022 This was filmed at Benalla Migrant camp and the people in the video are the children who lived there post-WW2. For the many migrants who came to Wollongong their childhood experiences of life in the hostels would probably reflect those as spoken about in this video. #migrantheritage #migrationhistory #migranthostels

17.01.2022 A group of boys line up to enter St John Vianney Catholic Church for their First Holy Communion (ca. 1958, note Cabbage Tree Lane in the background). School uniform and a sash was the ‘dress of the day’ for the boys at that time. The building of the church was made possible by the fundraising efforts of its parishioners that included a large Italian community. The church was also important to the many migrants who were housed at Balgownie (Fairy Meadow) Hostel, as was the primary school. The school is now called Good Samaritan while the church has retained its name of St John Vianney but is now a Co-Cathedral. #migranthistory #wollongong #wollongonghistory

16.01.2022 Did you have a garden in your backyard?

13.01.2022 SBS PROGRAMME "WHERE ARE YOU REALLY FROM" FEATURING WOLLONGONG'S SERBIAN COMMUNITY Wollongong's local Serbian community will feature on the SBS Programme "Where Are you Really From" on 7 July 2020 at 9.30pm. You can watch it now on SBS On Demand Season 3, Episode 3.

12.01.2022 1964 was the beginning of some of the larger intakes of migrants to Balgownie, Berkeley and Unanderra Hostels after an intensive recruiting drive to ease manpower shortages was conducted in London by BHP officials who recruited some 1500 men for Australian Iron & Steel at Port Kembla and for Newcastle steelworks. As a result of that recruiting drive about 106 British migrants made up the first batch of families who arrived in Sydney onboard the Canberra in October that inclu...ded 24 workers, 23 wives and 69 children. Another 131 people, including 26 workers arrived on the Fairsky and a third group arrived by air. Many were accommodated at both Balgownie and Berkeley Hostels. From 4 December, thirty five more British families arrived at Balgownie and they were followed by another 16 families who had arrived in Sydney onboard the Ellimis, taking the total number of people that were accommodated at Balgownie to 1,707. A further 13 families arrived by air in early January 1965 and they were accommodated at Unanderra. It was the first time British migrants had stayed at Unanderra Hostel for several years as it had normally accommodated European migrants, mostly unaccompanied men, and in January 1965 sixty percent of those men were Spanish. The arrival of those 13 families meant that there was a total 58 British families living at Unanderra Hostel by early January 1965. All these new British migrant workers had been specially selected to work at Australian Iron & Steel at Port Kembla through the BHP recruiting drive in London. One of those families was the Akam family who were sent to Balgownie Hostel. Kenneth Akam had worked at a steelworks in Wales before he came to Wollongong to work at Port Kembla steelworks for Australian Iron & Steel. The information and images for this post were researched, sourced and prepared by the Migration Heritage Project, a not-for-profit community group located in Wollongong, NSW. If you are viewing this post on another Facebook page (thank you for sharing) we would really appreciate it if you would visit the Migration Heritage Project Facebook page and like our page. By doing so you will be helping us grow our audience. If you are sharing this post to another page please attribute the post to the Migration Heritage Project. Thank you. Source: Illawarra Mercury 13 October 1964. Photograph of the Akam family: Mr & Mrs Kenneth Akam with their sons Gary, Carl and Martin, Illawarra Mercury, 4 January 1965. #migrantheritage #migranthistory #migranthostels #wollongonghistory #balgowniehostel #unanderrahostel #berkeleyhostel #unanderra #berkeley #fairymeadow

11.01.2022 Extremely popular with post-WWII migrants who came to Wollongong during the 1950s and 1960s was the formation of choirs, dance groups and musical ensembles. One such singing group was the Dirndl Singers which was formed in 1967. The singers were a happy combination of Austrian, Dutch, German and Latvian women who had formed to sing for their own pleasure after they attended a lecture on music appreciation at the WEA Wollongong. Their lecturer was Mrs Nan Price and it was a...t her suggestion that they continued to sing together. For a while the group did not have a name but they had become well-known from their performances at various venues and functions around Wollongong. They eventually came up with the name of The Dirndl Singers after they all had made their own Dirndl, a traditional costume worn by Austrian and Bavarian women. Mrs Lotte Dymet, of Keiraville, a music teacher who migrated from Graz, Austria, was the Dirndl-Singers leader and also accompanied them on the accordion. The Dirndl Singers met every second week for singing practice which always started with serious work but finished with a cup of tea or coffee and a chat. Three of the Dirndl-Singers were members of the Volendammer Quartet: Tina Zuiderwyk from Woonona, Cory Meyer of Bellambi and Grace Feenstra of Wollongong. The Volendammer Quartet formed in 1966 and was an integral part of Wollongong’s cultural scene. Zus Buikstra was another Dutch member of the Dirndl-Singers as well as a member of the Mixed Dutch Choir. Ilse Horndlein and Margot Seemann of Woonona, Ellen Stefanovic of Bellambi and Martha Strasser of Farmborough Heights were the German representatives. Mrs Strasser was born in Germany but had settled in Palestine before coming to Australia. Anna Rudzatz of Balgownie represented Latvia. The singers did not have any language barriers and as the need arose they were able to speak German, English, Dutch or Austrian dialect. Australian woman, Alicia Ryan of Corrimal , was also a member of the Dirndl-Singers as well as a member of the Illawarra Choral Society and the Dutch Mixed Choir. Photo: The Dirndl Singers (from left to right) Zus Buikstra, Lotte Dymet, Anna Rudzatz, Margot Seemann, Martha Strasser, Ilse Horndlein, Grace Feenstra, Tiny Zuiderwyk, Alicia Ryan and Cory Meyer. Photograph image from the Illawarra Mercury, 20 March 1969.

10.01.2022 The Sanssouci German Male Choir was established in 1963 after two young migrants, Wolfgang Kolodezy and Jacob Papeldel (or Papendell) met when they travelled from Germany to Australia in 1960. They met again in Wollongong where Jacob was still keen to create a German choir. Starting with 8 members including Wolfgang and with Jacob as the founding conductor they gathered at Coniston Hotel and formed the Sanssouci German Male Choir (Sanssouci is the name of a castle in Berlin).... The choir would practice each week at venues such as the Coniston Hotel, then the Ironworkers Club, Wollongong Bowling Club, the German Club at Kembla Grange and finally the AGA Club Germania. By 1966 the Sanssouci Choir had 35 members and would perform concerts, including the Sydney Opera House and at events like Oktoberfest which in the early days in Wollongong was held in places like the Warrawong Hall. The Sanssouci German Male Choir held its first concert in the Wollongong Town Hall on 2 June 1966 before an audience of 900 people. By 1967 the Sanssouci Choir had new uniform jackets with an embroidered Sanssouci badge on the pocket. In October 1968 the Sanssouci Choir came first on Red Faces on Channel 9 in Sydney and in the December 1968 Red Faces final they placed sixth. It was the first group from Wollongong to have won a prize on Red Faces. When the Sanssouci German Male Choir celebrated their tenth anniversary at Warrawong Community Hall they had 41 member-singers. NB: earlier newspaper article reports Red Faces appearance in 1968 and the latter 1972 and both with different spelling, Papendell and Papeldel. Apologies for quality of Illawarra Mercury photo, only available in this format. #migrantheritage #migranthistory #migranthostels #wollongonghistory #balgowniehostel #unanderrahostel #berkeleyhostel #unanderra #berkeley #fairymeadow

10.01.2022 Indo-Chinese refugees refer to people from South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. In January 1978, 23 Vietnamese had commenced work at AI&S and by June 1978 there were about 40 Vietnamese refugees who had started a new life in Wollongong. The first intake of Indo-Chinese refugees at Fairy Meadow Hostel occurred on 26 June 1978 and comprised of 98 Vietnamese and 4 Cambodians. Many of the Indo-Chinese were subjected to bigotry and prejudice by some people and not made to feel wel...comed. Pamphlets were even sent through the mail calling for the end of the invasion of Australia. This prompted well-wishers to step forward and voice their support. The Indo-Chinese refugees only wanted to learn English, find a job and family security. Many of the suspicions towards the newly arrived Vietnamese refugees, such as taking jobs and jumping the housing commission queues, were echoes of past protests made against the post-WW2 migrants 30 years earlier. Loan Nittel is a member of the Migration Heritage Project Committee and has contributed to Australia working for 20 years in the disability services sector and now a teacher of community services. Follow the link below to read her family’s journey from Vietnam to Australia and overcoming adversity. https://newhumansofaustralia.org//when-i-was-10-months-ol/ See more

10.01.2022 In 2009 the people below were photographed outside their first place of accommodation in Wollongong. Some places still exist, sadly others are long gone. As migrants they all shared the experience of staying in places of temporary accommodation such as the Balgownie/Fairy Meadow, Berkeley and Unanderra Hostels, Karingal and Steelhaven Hostels, family garages, tents in Stuart Park and Towradgi, or boarding houses. You can find out the names of the people via the link below. All photographs by Mayu Kanamori 2009, other than historical photos, Mayu Kanamori 2009/Wollongong City Council/Migration Heritage Project. Inspiration for the exhibition was drawn from the 2007 MHP Places Project. #migrantheritage #migranthistory #wollongonghistory #localhistory #wollongong #migranthostels

09.01.2022 A story on migrant hostels in the latest issue of Coal Coast Magazine. #migrantheritage #migrationhistory #migranthostels #wollongong #wollongonghistory

09.01.2022 Hans Schuster migrated from Austria to Australia with his wife and son Helmut in December 1955. Hans and his wife had 3 more children, Hans, Harry and Brigitte. They lived at Berkeley and Hans worked as a foreman at Metal Manufacturers at Port Kembla. Hans did not have any art training in Europe, but he was able to establish himself as an artist in Australia. He studied painting and drawing at Wollongong Technical College under Ivan Englund and in 1961 had his first one-m...an show at Barry Stern’s Gallery in Paddington. In 1965 he had his second one-man show at the same gallery in Paddington, followed by two more one-man shows, the first in June in the Toorak Gallery in Melbourne and the second in September 1965 in the Crana Gallery in Wollongong. Hans’s favourite subjects to paint were abandoned goldmining towns. In August 1967, a collection of the work of Hans Schuster was shown at the Tom Thumb Galleries in Crown Street, Wollongong. After visiting Hans and his family in Berkeley in August 1967, Hans’s father returned to Austria and took with him three of Hans’s paintings. Photograph courtesy of the National Archives of Australia, NAA: A12111, 1/1960/6/9 See more

07.01.2022 Spirit iron used by the van Gils family. The iron was brought from the Netherlands when the family migrated to Australia in 1950. It belonged to the van Gils children’s grandmother. The iron would have been used by the family whilst living at the Hostel in Bathurst, in a boarding house in Cliff Road, in a tent in Stuart Park and finally in the tent on their land in Figtree while they waited for their house they imported from Sweden. The folk art painted onto the iron was added much later. #migrantheritage #migranthistory #localhistory #wollongong #objects

05.01.2022 Yes that’s right, the Alumni Book Shop was formerly a staff residence and is a Quonset Hut, as is the former Cafeteria. The only Nissen Hut remaining at Fairy Meadow is the former laundry exchange. The Australian Government purchased Nissen Huts from Britain and Quonset Huts were purchased from the Americans on Manus Island. Nissen and Quonset Huts were much cheaper than building timber frame huts for Commonwealth Migrant Hostels. It was actually a group of Displaced Pers...ons who were settled in Australia by the Australian Government as part of the IRO agreement that were flown over Manus Island to dismantle the Quonset Huts before the huts were shipped to Australia and those Displaced Persons were helped by Japanese POWs from Rabaul. Generally, Nissen Huts were mainly used for sleeping quarters, whereas Quonset Huts were primarily used for amenity buildings and staff residences. Thank you Alumni Volunteers at UOW Used Books for welcoming visits. Stay Safe everyone if you visit. #migrantheritage #migranthostels See more

05.01.2022 This video is more than about football (soccer).

01.01.2022 Vietnamese Lanterns: The Vietnamese Moon Festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, when the moon is at its fullest. In the northern hemisphere this is in autumn, when rice is harvested before winter. It is also a children's festival. Children make processions carrying lanterns, which they have bought or made themselves. It is always celebrated at night because the light is important. The lanterns represent the sun's warmth and light. The lanterns in this... photo were part of a MHP exhibition and were made by a local Vietnamese artist out of wire and coloured cellophane. Some are made to have candles in them and others have an electric light. Migration Heritage Project. From the MHP Celebrations: Spirit of Communities Exhibition, September, 2003. #migrantheritage #migranthistory #wollongong #localhistory #vietnamese See more

01.01.2022 Follow the Stamina Ebook link below or click on any of the images to see more photographs, read about the history and personal stories from the people of Wollongong’s Textile, Clothing and Footwear industry in the Migration Heritage Project’s publication: Stamina, Aspiration & Capability, Working Life, Migrant Heritage in the TCF Industry in Wollongong 1940s-1970s. #migrantheritage #migranthistory #wollongonghistory #localhistory #wollongong #clothingindustry #textileindustry

01.01.2022 Gines Olaya was born in Spain and came to Australia in about 1951 where he worked as a labourer in the Snowy Mountains. Mr Olaya took up his post as Welfare Officer on 19 August 1969 to assist the 1,300 migrants who lived at Fairy Meadow and Unanderra Commonwealth Hostels. Berkeley Hostel was no longer in operation in 1969. Mr Olaya was one of the 14 officers that had been appointed by the Immigration Department to serve 28 migrant hostels throughout Australia. Apart from... needing to be sympathetic listeners Welfare Officers provided help with access to social services and with the integration of migrants which included helping them from finding language classes to finding housing. When Mr Olaya took up his post as Welfare Office he was married with two sons and had been a schoolteacher by profession. By 1972, when this photograph was taken, there were about 690 migrants living at the Fairy Meadow Hostel made up of 170 families of 23 nationalities. Mr Gines Olaya is pictured in this photograph with Mrs Sheila May Hirst and Mrs Wendy Swire. Both Wendy and Sheila May had come to Australia from Yorkshire, UK, and their husbands both worked at the Steelworks. At the time of this photograph the Swires family would soon move into a new home while the Hirsts family were still looking for a home but with four children found it more difficult to secure accommodation. Photograph Illawarra Mercury 4 May 1972 #migranthistory #migrationhistory #wollongonghistory #migranthostels See more