Connect to the rich and embedded history of migration in Australia right here in Albury Wodonga. The Bonegilla Migrant Experience is an immersive museum that captures the zeitgeist of post-world-war immigration in Australia.
Turn your short drive to Lake Hume into a refreshing day of cultural connection. The Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre was one of the pillars of the ‘populate or perish’ mentality following the second world war. Over 12,000 immigrants a year were welcomed into Australia in Melbourne before travelling north to Bonegilla. Here arrivals would await opportunities to honour their immigration deal in the form of job or labour allocation. This work took arrivals across the country, which has led to 1 in 20 Australians today being closely connected to Bonegilla.
In time past, the Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre once encompassed a much larger area. The 28 blocks included its own post office, churches, banks, sporting fields, cinema, hospital, police station and railway platform. The Bonegilla Migrant Experience encompasses one preserved site: block 19. Connect to the past through the wonderful exhibitions that memorialise the stories of Bonegilla. Make sure to see the beautiful Arc memorial sculpture during your visit and marvel at the depth and breadth of history at Bonegilla.
