Destination Australia: the migrant story

A fascinating and comprehensive look at the history of immigration in Australia since 1901 combining excerpt footage from films, newsreels and commercials held within ScreenSound Australia’s Archives and photographs from private collections. The story begins with the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901 and the passing of the White Australia Policy. It continues through to the multiculturalism of the 1970s and the eventual phasing out of that most incongruous White Australia Policy, particularly in the light of Australia’s involvement with Vietnam and our acceptance of the Vietnamese boat people to our shores. Includes footage of child migration; Dunera boys and internees; displaced persons; Bonegilla - Australia’s first holding centre for arriving non-British migrants; 10 pound Poms and “Bring out a Briton” campaign; the Snowy Mountains Scheme; multicultural events as well as many great shots from the past of some of Australia’s historic moments (air raid on Darwin in 1943, the arrival of the Dunera), prominent citizens (Jack Lang, Arthur Calwell, Chips Rafferty) and well-known landscapes (Port Melbourne docks, Sydney Harbour). Introduced by Les Cassidy and narrated by Henri Szeps.