Item MM 149415 Digital Photograph - Colin Austin With His Children Clive and Lisa, Dig Tree, Northern Territory, 1977

Summary

Digital photograph of Colin Austin with his children Clive and Lisa at the site of the explorers Bourke and Wills Dig Tree, Northern Territory, 1977

Jean and Colin Austin migrated to Melbourne from England with their children Clive (born 1967) and Lisa (born 1969) in 1971. They flew on a small plane with five stops through the USA and Fiji over 40 hours. The family first went to Eastbridge Migrant Hostel in Nunawading and was there for less than a week. With Colin's job located in Clayton, the family relocated to the Enterprise Hostel in Springvale where conditions were much more comfortable. Then they rented for a short period while their house in The Basin was built.

The Museum also holds two letters handwritten by Jean Austin to her family back in England, soon after arriving in Melbourne in 1971. They describe impressions and experiences at the time of their first Christmas in Austalia at the Enterprise Hostel in Springvale, and from Eastbridge Migrant Hostel on the day after their arrival describing the experience of departing and flying to Australia.

Description of Content

Man with two children sitting in fork of tree

Physical Description

Digital colour photograph

Significance

Statement of Historical Significance:
These images and the letters they relate to provide a lively, first-hand account of travel and hostel life for migrants arriving in Melbourne in the 1970s. They provide an insight into migrant responses to hostel and holiday life.