Eastern European migrants arrive in Newcastle NSW on the Fairsea, 1949.
A family’s journey from postwar Bremen to Greta migrant camp
During World War II Australia’s industrial infrastructure received an impressive boost, as the nation fought to make itself defensible against Japan and to become as self-sufficient as it could. Much of this capacity remained after the war, and for some decades Australian industry flourished, creating jobs and putting healthy paypackets into the pockets of the working middle classes. There was so much work, in fact, that Australia reached out to Europe – much of it still struggling with postwar reconstruction and deep poverty – for more potential workers and citizens. Still unwilling to let go of…