November 28 marks 75 years since the arrival of the first ship to Australia carrying passengers headed for Bonegilla Reception and Training Centre.

Stay tuned because we are planning to mark the occasion.

Keep a look out on our social media and e-newsletter for more details soon.

Guided tours of Block 19 will be held Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays in the Victorian school holidays.

Leaving from the Welcome Centre at 11am, the cost is $17 for adults, $14 concession and $9 for children under 16.

Visiting at any other time throughout the year? We hold guided tours of the site at 11am Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. Get in touch to register your interest.

Father’s Day is quickly approaching and the hunt for a unique gift begins. Have you considered The Arc memorial sculpture plaques?

Applications are available all year round, but to be up in time for Father’s Day, applications need to be made by July 8.

Head online to make your application

On the final leg of her journey to the Bonegilla Migrant Camp in 1950, 12-year-old Alla Nosiara, nee Huszcza, from Belarus thought she had ‘arrived in Paradise’.

Mrs Nosiara’s vision of Paradise came on a shaded railway platform as she travelled with her siblings and widowed mother to Bonegilla. When the train came to a halt, the family disembarked to be greeted by trestle tables loaded with cups of tea, cakes, scones, jam and cream.

It was heaven for the mother and children who had spent the post-war years in a concentration camp and a series of Allied refugee camps.

Read more of her story here.

Meet Tony (left) and Viljem (right), who visited Bonegilla Migrant Experience earlier this year, reuniting the two friends who first met at Bonegilla.

Tony, who arrived in 1957 from Slovenia/Yugoslavia and stayed at Bonegilla for four and a half years, worked as a maintenance man.

He arrived with his wife Anna and newborn baby son Denis. Later, Anna worked in the kitchen in Block 19 (she has since passed away).

Tony met Viljem whilst at Bonegilla in that four year period and they have remained life-long friends.

Tony still lives in Albury while Viljem lives in Melbourne.

Accompanying Tony and Viljem was Viljem’s daughter in her first visit to Bonegilla. What a great set of tour guides to show her around!

Together, the men share many memories of life at Bonegilla, including the 1961 riots and protests, driving a car without a licence and walking to Wodonga in the early days.

Thanks for visiting.

The popular Picturing and Re-Picturing Bonegilla book is back in the Welcome Centre. Pop in or get in touch with the BME team to have one posted to you.

Also in stock are our popular BON-A-GILLA, BONNY-GILLA, BONE-GILLA, BON-NEG-ILLA T-Shirts from children’s size 4 to Adults XL.

You can pick up a children's size for $15 or an adult size for $20.

We are lucky at Bonegilla Migrant Experience to have such a wonderful, passionate and knowledgeable team, especially our fabulous volunteers who are here to welcome ex-residents, people with family connections, army connections and visitors to the site.

One of our volunteers, Alice, has shared some of her thoughts on volunteering at our site.

How long you have volunteered at Bonegilla Migrant Experience?

I have volunteered at Bonegilla Migrant Experience for nearly six years. It never ceases to amaze me. The resilience, the fortitude, the determination that these amazing migrants had in coming to a new land thousands of kilometres from their birthland. I am privileged to listen to their stories: the escape from brutal political regimes, lack of opportunities for their families, the lack of basic requirements of everyday living. Each story is as individual as the 320,000 migrants that have arrived through the gates of Bonegilla.

Why do you enjoy volunteering?

The next generations visiting Block 19. This is important for them as it informs them of their people's journey and the experiences they had and what they did for the future generations. These moments can be emotional for the visitor. One man in 2019 wrote in the visitor's book “Mum used to say ‘No bullets, dry bed, and food’ (1949)”.

Further comment:

Bonegilla Migrant Experience is a heritage-listed site. Thank you to those who worked for this to happen. This site ensures stories will not be forgotten and is a valuable education tool in Australia’s history. No matter who we are, our stories are important and are the fabric of a country that we call home, Australia.

Why not take our virtual tour and access learning resources?

Virtual Tour and Learning Resources

If you need to get in touch with us, please phone (02) 6020 6912 or email [email protected]u

If you contact us at a time when we are closed, please be assured you will receive a response during our operating hours.

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We look forward to welcoming you to Bonegilla Migrant Experience soon.