Sydney via the Suez: The diary of Michael Walker
30 Dec 2019
To mark the Suez Canal’s 150th anniversary, curator Kim Tao shares an edited extract from the diary of Michael Walker, a 33-year-old chiropodist who emigrated from England in 1953 with his wife Mildred (aged 32), a teacher, and their children, Nicholas (five) and Elizabeth (three), on the P&O liner Maloja.
Read more![Workers place concrete reinforcement steel in the Tooma–Tumut Tunnel, part of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, 1960. Photographer Don Edwards. ANMM Collection Gift from Barbara Alysen ANMS0215[016]](/-/media/anmm/images/blog-content/october-2019/anms0215016_2160x1080-copy.jpg?h=1080&la=en&w=2160&hash=20173109B44CBE63C50F03B705DAD604FEC8ED84 "Workers place concrete reinforcement steel in the Tooma–Tumut Tunnel, part of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, 1960. Photographer Don Edwards. ANMM Collection Gift from Barbara Alysen ANMS0215[016]")
Snowy stories
17 Oct 2019
Seventy years ago today, the first blast was fired in the town of Adaminaby in southern New South Wales, officially marking the start of construction on Australia’s largest engineering project – the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme.
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Love and sacrifice: From Madeira Island to the Snowy Mountains
28 Sep 2019
Seventy years ago this October, work began on Australia’s largest engineering project – the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme. Curator Kim Tao shares the story of Portuguese newlyweds José and Maria Coelho, who swapped sunny Madeira Island for the isolation of the Snowy Mountains.
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A worker in tulle: The English lacemakers of Calais
27 Aug 2019
The 1848 Revolution in France led to the exodus of a unique group of refugee artisans now known as the lacemakers of Calais. Curator Kim Tao profiles the story of Edward Lander, chairman of a committee representing nearly 650 English laceworkers and their families, who sought a fresh start in the Australian colonies.
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Until we meet again: An Italian proxy bride's story
22 Aug 2019
Annarosa Coluccio (née Bova) was one of 12,000 young Italian women who arrived in Australia as proxy brides between 1945 and 1976. Confronted by vast cultural and linguistic barriers, she eventually settled in with the love of her husband and the friendship of their new Australian neighbours.
Read more![Johann and Katharina Emmelhainz on the Beulah passenger list, 1849. Courtesy NSW State Archives Reel 2145, [4/4820].](/-/media/anmm/images/blog/3-johann-and-katharina-emmelhainz_2160x1080.jpg?la=en&hash=0F95ED9030DFD4431A14D65F586FFD2F646E8B6F)
Vinedressers and vintners
04 Apr 2019
On 4 April 1849, the three-masted bounty ship Beulah arrived in Sydney with 180 immigrants from the heart of German wine country.
Remembering the Irish famine orphans
17 Mar 2019
Today some 80 million people worldwide claim Irish ancestry, including an estimated seven million Australians. For St Patrick’s Day, we take a look at the story of the destitute Irish orphans who arrived in Australia 170 years ago at the height of the Great Famine.
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Threads of migration
26 Jan 2019
Textiles are an evocative symbol of migration, memory and cultural identity. Our new roof projection, Threads of migration, illuminates the museum’s rooftop with a rich patchwork of immigrant stories.
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Celebrating 20 years of the Welcome Wall
24 Jan 2019
On 24 January 1999, the first 3,000 names were officially unveiled on the museum’s Welcome Wall.
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Anatolia to Australia
23 Jan 2019
Turkish migrant¸ Sükran Adasal was just 19 years old when she and her husband Halit embarked on a belated honeymoon to an island continent on the other side of the world. Travelling under the Australia–Turkey Migration Agreement, the young couple’s thoughts were filled with hope for a new future.
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