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James Constance

Migration Experiences Interview Transcript


Full Name: Alessandra Alberto

Date of Birth: 9th July 1934


Age: 19 (at the time of arrival)

Country of Origin: Bari, Italy


Departure Date: 1st October 1953
Date of Arrival in Australia: 16th September 1953

Interviewer: Welcome and thank you Alessandra Alberto for agreeing to


speak to me today about your experiences as a migrant in Australia.
Alessandra Alberto: Its my pleasure.
Interviewer: Now I understand that your mother and you migrated to
Australia under the assisted passage migration scheme 4 years after your
father migrated in search of work and settlement. What was your familys
motive to leave Bari?
Alessandra Alberto: After World War 2, there was much social, political and
economic uncertainty in Italy complimented by a government struggling to
cope prompted us and many others to migrate to Australia where there was a
supposedly desperate shortage of labour. When my father came he settled as
an agricultural worker on a farm on the outer west regions of Melbourne, as
passage to Australia was quite expensive my mother and I had to wait four
yeas until we had gathered enough money that my father sent home to
afford the journey to Australia.
Interviewer: Are you able to give any insight into your passage to Australia?
By what means did you immigrate to Australia, and who greeted you upon
your arrival?
Alessandra Alberto: Migration was a strenuous, emotional and expensive
process; I could undeniably see the implications that the separation between
my parents had caused. Prior to migration, our family rarely left the comforts
of our village precinct; hence it was understandable that my mother looked
as scared as I was when we embarked on our journeyed. On the 1 st of
October my mum and I caught a train in the early hours of morning to
Messina, carrying all our possessions in a wooden trunk. The journey then
took roughly six weeks on boat, via the Suez Canal and the first stop in
Australia was Perth, followed by Melbourne where we got off. I remember
that day clear as ever when we arrived in Melbourne, we were waiting at the
disembarkation point when I saw my father, he greeted us with a warm,
comforting hug embracing both my mother and I.

James Constance
Interviewer: Once in Australia, did you immediately seek employment, and
what were the working conditions like?
Alessandra Alberto: I found it quite difficult to find initial employment as
Italian was my main language. Learning to speaking English was quite an
audacious task for me, as I could not approach strangers to make friends,
and with my parents who remained speaking English at home who was there
to assist me in the development of my English? Ah they were very difficult
times indeed! However after a few months I found a local job in a caf
working part time. After working in that caf for several months I could still
sense that I wasnt fully accepted into Australian society; few people
interacted with my on a social basis, and even after ample time the manager
still felt inclined to confine my work to preparing drinks and snacks orders by
the customers.
Interviewer: How did you get along with your community and neighbours?
Did you confront any social or individual challenges within your first few
years in Australia?
Alessandra Alberto: I faced many barriers standing between Australian
society and me as my family and I were excluded by the pro white
Australian society, not yet fully accepting of Italian migrants. We made
considerable efforts to reach out to our neighbours with little chance that
they would accept our cultural differences and perspectives. It was hard to
hold onto our traditional practices and culture as few other Italian migrants
lives within the social proximity of our home and gaining access to
equipment and other utensils used in celebrations were hard to come by,
which meant our culture slowly slipped away removing my sense of
belonging and worth.
Interviewer: Did you experience any racial discrimination? If yes, could you
please describe in further detail what racial discrimination you were
subjected too?
Alessandra Alberto: Another Italian woman I met In Australia who moved
here during World War 2 explained to me that they were heavily victimized
as enemy civilians regardless of age, health or political views. I experienced
popular resentment in Australia in the various forms of discrimination such as
insufficient health care, racism and little or no access to government support.
On several occasions our cameras, and radios were permanently confiscated
or later returned broken, however this practice soon halted with the end of
the war having long since past. One of the lowest forms of discrimination was
when we were denied access to essential specialist medical care. This was
uncovered when my father was assaulted one night, and the courts did
nothing to stop the violence.
Interviewer: What do you picture as your identy as Alessandra?
Alessandra Alberto: the Italian war experience destroyed many of the
political and sentimental attachments that not only my family had once, but
also the many other Italians that had previously felt similarly towards Italy. As
a consequence, the end of the war encouraged the citizenship of many Italian
migrants within Australia, who had been caught up as enemy foreigners at
the outbreak of the world conflict. Henceforth I consider myself an Australian

James Constance
Interviewer: Thank you for taking the time to discuss your experiences
throughout your journey; not only to Australia but also within Australia itself. I
have enjoyed speaking with you and you have provided me with a deeper
understanding of post WWII migrant experiences in Australia.
Thank you
Annotated Bibliography
Australian Government. The changing face of modern Australia 1950s to
1970s. (27 April 2015) Retrieved October 31, 2015, from
http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/changing-face-ofmodern-australia-1950s-to-1970s
This website examines immigration to Australia and policies that influenced
and / or assisted migration post World War 2. The site explored the changes
within Australian society as a result of mass migration as well as the
challenges that migrant underwent when they arrived in Australia. The main
limitation of the website is that it studied few social and individual barriers
these people faced within Australian culture.
Calabria. The after-war Italian mass migration in Australia, 1946-1970s.
(Thursday, November 5, 2015). Retrieved October 31, 2015, from
http://calabria.org.au/the-after-war-italian-mass-migration-in-australia-19461970s/
This website studies the specific migration of Italian migrants to Australia as
well as several incentives through which Australia promoted immigration
throughout Italy. The website primarily focuses on the post World War 2
government acts which prompted migration complemented by the post World
War 2 conditions. The information given enabled me to complement fine
details as I described my immigrants passage to Australia as well as initial
experiences in Australia.
HistoryNet. World War II: German Raid on Bari. (2015) Retrieved October 31,
2015, from http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii-german-raid-on-bari.htm
This website examines the German raids on the port of Bari, including one
case in which mustard bombs exploded and killed over a thousand civilians
during the World War 2. The focus of this website is to illustrate various
consequences and affects during and after World War 2. This website is
relevant to my research as it provides and examines certain events in Bari,
Italy, Post World War 2 which would have offered decent motives for
immigration as well as evidence of traumatising experiences as a result of
the War.
Migration Heritage Centre. Journey to a New Life - Italian Migration to NSW.
(2011) Retrieved October 31, 2015, from
http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/journey/journey/
The following website describes the experiences both prior and during the
Italian migration to Australia, primarily focusing on the impact this migration
had on the families involved. The material was relevant and beneficial for my

James Constance
research as it gave me an understanding into what migrants had experienced
as they travelled from their home country to Australia.
NSW Government, Department of Education. Australian Communities: Italian
Australians (2015). Racismnoway. Retrieved October 31, 2015, from
http://www.racismnoway.com.au/teaching-resources/factsheets/58.html
The Information this website provides is specifically focused on Italian
migration to Australia throughout time, examining the causes and
experiences of each migration. This information revealed numerous situations
Italians would be faced with both before departure and on arrival in Australia.
Since there was only a few detailed aspects of Italian immigration post World
War 2, it hindered the utility of the website in respect to my research.

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