Thursday, April 15, 2021

2021 #AtoZChallenge M is for ...Migrants

  I've been researching my family history for over thirty years. Along this genealogy journey I have been supported by hundreds of books, many of which I have listed on my Librarything page. 

During the 2021 #AtoZChallenge I will be writing about two of my passions, books and family history. I'll be taking a trip down memory lane and revisiting some of those books that have enriched my genealogy experience.


Most Australians have immigrants in their ancestry. Since 1788 when the First Fleet arrived in Sydney Cove all of those who have arrived in Australia from other lands were immigrants. While I have ancestry that goes back thousands of years in this land I am interested in the stories of my ancestors and others who later came from distant lands. 

For my M post I am sharing details of some  immigrant stories. I feel that we should all learn about our neighbours and their histories as well as our personal histories. The books on the following list give us an insight into lives of these folk prior to and after their arrival in Australia. I had previously shared this list of  books I have read in another blog post but felt that it deserved another airing. 

After this : survivors of the Holocaust speak  Alice Nelson

Almost like home : living in Bradfield Park, Michael Hogan

The Arrival, Shaun Tan (Picture book - suggested by Carmel Galvin).

Benedictine pioneers in Australia, Henry Norbert Birt

The Boat by Nam Le  (Suggested by Carmel Galvin)

Chinese whispers : in search of ivy : a gold rush story told by generations of an Australian-Chinese family, Alison Choy Flannigan

Convict women, Kay Daniels

Cop This Lot, Nino Culotta


Esther : the extraordinary true story of the First Fleet girl who became first lady of the colony by Jessica North

Fair Game, Elizabeth Rushen

Farewell my children : Irish emigration to Australia 1848-1870,  Richard Reid

The Floating Brothel: The Extraordinary True Story of an Eighteenth-Century Ship and Its Cargo of Female Convicts, Sian Rees

Free Passage, Perry McIntyre

Freedom's land, Anna Jacobs

From Distress to Deliverance : the life and times of william gow, convict, schoolmaster and farmer, Stephen Gow

The Happiest Refugee, Anh Do

The glory garage : growing up Lebanese Muslim in Australia, Nadia Jamal

The happiest man on Earth, Eddie Jaku

Hell ship, Michael Veitch  (Suggested by Jennifer Jones)

I Kept on Dancing: A Life's Journey from Nazi Germany to the Lucky Country, Olga Geddes

Inheritance of secrets, Sonya Bates

Into the Suburbs : A Migrant's Story, Christopher Raja

The Italian girl, Rebecca Huntley

Joyful strains : making Australia home, Kent MacCarter

7 comments:

Cassmob (Pauleen) said...

Lots in there I have or have read, some new ones to add. thanks. I’m eternally fascinated by the migrant experience.

Cassmob (Pauleen) said...

Can I add “The Voyage of their Lives” by Diane Armstrong...one of my favourites.

crgalvin said...

A great list, I still need to read several of these.

GeniAus said...

I'll add the book to my TBR list Pauleen. Thanks again Carmel for your earlier suggestions which I have read.

Molly's Canopy said...

Wow, that's quite a reading list. I'm also have mixed immigrant ancestry here in the U.S. -- and each surname probably has its own books. You've given me an idea of compiling those I've read/referenced into a reading list. https://mollyscanopy.com/2021/04/margot-moose-and-ancestral-connections-atozchallenge/

Anne Young said...

Such an enormous variety of stories.

Alex Daw said...

More great books for me to read. Thank you Jill. This has been such an excellent meme. I started another U3A course yesterday in colonial history in Australia. We talked about why we study history. Of course most of us are just interested in it and we like the detective aspect of family history I think. But I also believe that it does expand "our moral comprehension" and makes us more responsible citizens. I believe the quote is from Martha Nassbaum whose work I hadn't heard of before. I have now ordered both her books from the library.

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