Monday 29 September 2014

Uranquinty Migrant Centre - 'Uranquinty Remembers'

For a some time now I have been in search of information about the Uranquinty Migrant Centre that was once located in rural New South Wales. Despite my best efforts, it has been extremely difficult to find more than a few scattered details about this transit camp that acted as a temporary base for refugees like my grandparents when they first arrived in Australia.

Wikipedia has a small article about Uranquinty which was a good starting point but when I contacted the immigration department and the National Archives of Australia, they were unable to supply me with any useful information. Disappointed, I then turned to the Estonian Archives of Australia thinking they would have a wealth of information on every migrant camp established in Australia after WWII. To my surprise however, I was informed that they've never even heard of a camp located at Uranquinty!

Frustrated but refusing to give up, I then spent hours searching online until I found exactly what I was looking for. Someone had written a book specifically about the Uranquinty Migrant Centre and naturally I ordered it straight away!


Appropriately titled Uranquinty Remembers, the book was written in 2001 by Sherry Morris, a historian from the Wagga Wagga area. The book covers all you need to know about the Uranquinty Migrant Centre including daily life, health, education, employment and the impact of the DP scheme.

If anyone else has an interest in the Uranquinty Migrant Centre, you can contact Sherry Morris directly via Linkedin to order a copy of her book.