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Immigration Officers Tell Their Stories in a New Oral History Project

Unknown photographer
Arthur Calwell welcoming British migrants, c.1947
negative; 10.11 x 8.0 cm
Pictures Collection, nla.pic-vn3311968

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and the National Library have been working together to produce an oral history project focusing on immigration to Australia after World War II.

As Australia was the destination for hundreds of thousands of post-war migrants and refugees, immigration officers are uniquely placed to tell the story of global population movement after 1945.

Prospective migrants and refugees were interviewed and assessed by Chief Migration Officers who, now retired, are participating in this joint project.

Many of the officers were posted to locations around the world, such as the Middle East, South-East Asia and South America, very often with minimal resources and having to rely on their own wits, skills and training to get the job done.

These officers all have fascinating stories to tell and collectively represent much of the nation’s immigration history, a history that forged a culturally diverse nation.

The oral history project will see at least 20 of these frontline immigration officers record their life and career stories with the National Library’s Oral History Branch, where they will become part of the Library’s permanent collection. So far interviewer Ann-Mari Jordens has interviewed 10 officers for the project.

The interviews will be available through the Library’s catalogue, access conditions permitting, and highlights from the interviews, along with photographs, memorabilia and video presentations will also be featured in a special multimedia presentation on the DIAC website (www.immi.gov.au).

The National Library’s Oral History and Folklore Collection consists of 40 000 hours of original recordings.

Ellen Peterson
Media Liaison Officer, Communications and Marketing