On Their Own: Britain’s Child Migrants
From the 1860s, more than 100,000 children were sent from Britain to Australia, Canada and other Commonwealth countries through child migration schemes. Few were orphans; many came from families who were unable to care for them. The lives of these children changed dramatically. Some succeeded in creating new futures while others suffered lonely, brutal childhoods. All experienced disruption and separation from family and homeland. This exhibition explores the government endorsed schemes and the motivations behind them. Through detailed case studies, visitors will meet a number of former child migrants and find out more about their difference experiences.
Date: 13 October 2011 to 6 May 2012
Customs Detective School Holiday Program
Become a Customs Detective at the Immigration Museum these school holidays, and choose your own adventure. Grab a special adventure booklet, make your own detective badge and disguise and snoop your way around the Museum – following clues and answering riddles, in the footsteps of famous Customs Detectives from early Melbourne.
Date: 24 September to 9 October 2011
Open for (more than) Business
Many local businesses run by people from migrant communities offer more than just a service. They can act as community hubs and provide links to a homeland while also helping recently arrived migrants establish a connection with their new home. Featuring photographs, stories and a documentary, Open for (more than) Business explores the unique role that local businesses play in Melbourne’s migrant communities, from an Indian grocery store in Clayton to an Italian barbershop in Brunswick.
Date: Until 27 May 2012
Belonging: Reflections on Place
A video installation by video artist Wendy Woodson and installation artist Kathy Couch (with sound design by Myles Mumford), Belonging: Reflections on Place features interviews with diverse migrants and refugees and members of their families living in Australia who reflect on their experiences of place, migration and belonging. Large scale projections of travel and migration inspire a sense of movement and transition from place to place, encouraging visitors to reflect on experiences of place and belonging across different continents and cultures.
Date: Until 22 January 2012
Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours
Unlike any other exhibition in an Australia museum, Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours provides fresh and challenging insights into personal identity – who we are, how we perceive each other and what it means to belong or not belong in Australia today. Focusing on the things that make up our sense of who we are – ethnicity, ancestry, language, spirituality and citizenship – the exhibition explores the many and varied identities that make up our nation. Featuring objects, immersive multimedia displays and a range of personal stories from Australians of widely diverse backgrounds, Identity will challenge visitors to examine their own assumptions and confront everyday prejudices about Australia’s multicultural society.
Date: Now open
Immigration Museum, 400 Flinders Street, Melbourne. Open daily 10.00am to 5.00pm except Good Friday and Christmas Day. Admission: Adult $10, child/concession FREE. More info 13 11 02 or museumvictoria.com.au/immigration museum