Summary

Shirt worn by Bul Ayuel Bulkoch when he arrived in Melbourne as a Sudanese refugee in October 1996. Along with the pair of trousers he was also wearing, it was all he owned, having distributed his other belonging amongst relatives and having to rush to catch the plane before it departed with his family from Nairobi.

Bul Bulkoch was born in southern Sudan in 1983 in the same year the war in Sudan began. Bul and his family fled Sudan trekking through Ethiopia, back to Sudan and finally to Kenya, residing in refugee camps until finally successfully gaining acceptance to Australia as refugees. Bul was 13 when he arrived in Australia in 1996 with his parents, younger sister and brothers. When he arrived at Melbourne International Airport, he had only the clothes he was wearing. As an Australian teenager, Bul played basketball, made many friends, and completed his secondary education at Footscray City College. He went on to complete his university engineering degree and now works for Rio Tinto in Western Australia as a mining engineer and planner.

Physical Description

Boy's shirt, blue cotton and polyester with collar and plastic buttons down the front, at cuffs and one on each of two front panels. Inside collar has a sewn-in label 'Here's a HUG' and another label with materials and washing instructions.

More Information