Immigration Bridge Australia – a Gift to the Nation.

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Issue Number: 19 (December, 2007)

Some of you are receiving a newsletter for the first time as we continue to update our records. Past newsletters and other information about this national community project are available on www.immigrationbridge.com.au As I preparing to send out this newsletter, the tally of countries from which migrants have come to Australia from which registrations have come has risen to 99! While this is great achievement in itself, I can't help wondering which name will come up as #100. A Canberra resident from Sierra Leone has telephoned to say he will be registering at the nearest Bendigo Bank, but he will be competing with the online registrations which are racing in as people buy them as Christmas presents, and those who send them in to WalterTurnbull where they are banked and forwarded to us here in the office for processing. STOP PRESS!! Our Canberran Yembeh Mansaray (Sierra Leone 2002) has just registered his name making SIERRA LEONE the 100th country to appear as a country of origin on the History Handrail. At the same time as we await the arrival of country #100, the stories continue to roll in. People from all over the world log onto the website every day to read them. I was very pleased to be a guest at the ABC Studios in Sydney, where livewire radio host Adam Spencer hosted a live "The world is Sydney" program to celebrate the diversity of countries that go to make up the population of Sydney. I met close to 200 people and outlined our wonderful project to them. It was great to meet Adam, his wife Mel, roving reporter Phil Ashley-Brown and the fabulous Peter Zmijewshi, the weather forecaster! The enthusiasm of everyone for our project was uplifting. Jane and I raced down on the weekend to attend the 60th anniversary gathering at Bonegilla Migrant Processing Centre, near Albury, where more than 300,000 migrants were housed over the years 1947 to 1971.  We met and spoke to the hundreds attending - former residents and their children and grandchildren, and it only served to underline the importance of this project that at the 50th Anniversary (obviously 10 years ago) there were 11,000 people! The numbers are dwindling at a frightening rate, and it is so important that we collect their stories now before they are lost to us. (My thanks to ABC radio presenters Anne Delaney in Wagga and Narelle Graham in Albury for interviewing me and highlighting the project over the weekend.) In case you didn't know, Australia now has another Welsh migrant success story in our new Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. (you can read from her letter of support) As I have flagged in the Latest News section, our brochure (which had a print run of 100,000) has now a couple of shortcomings because of its age. It doesn't mention the Migration Book and its importance to our overall project, and it mentions a date for information to be supplied by those who reserved places on the History Handrail without a name, country of origin, etc. attached. That date 1 December 2007 was NOT meant to be interpreted as a cut-off date for registrations. We will cut off when we have recived the full 200,000 names. At the current rate that will be sometime in 2008, but I advise those putting off their registrations to not do so for much longer, as there is huge push towards Christmas, and the focus will then be on Australia Day, not to mention promotions by sponsors, Bendigo Bank and SBS.

I was a guest at the Forum and AGM of the Refugee Council of Australia recently at Macquarie Street. What a great bunch of people. It is instructive to note the considerable contributions to our society by the more than 300,000 refugees who have been able to settle here since the Second World War. Yet another major organisation that is very supportive of our project.

At the presentation of "In first Person" at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre, six prominent Hungarians told their stories of migration in digital format before an enthusiastic audience. The stories were very moving, and afterwards I joined the six to field questions from the audience. The question that comes to mind was the one asking what kind of "counselling" there was available to them at Bonegilla (five of the families had resided there) given the trauma they had been through in getting to Australia. There was general mirth, and all explained there was none, but the acts of kindness by individuals and families sometimes more than made up for that. For example....

The father of one of the storytellers was determined to get himself a job and extract his family from the camp. He took himself to the Hume Highway, and finally a truck driver took him all the way to Sydney and dropped him in a likely spot. After spending three days sleepng in a park, local police took him in, washed his clothes while he showered and spent a more comfortable night in a cell, and they then took him to a spot where he had a chance to meet fellow Hungarian speakers (he discovered they had put ten pounds in his pocket). Finally he met some, and three weeks later he had a job in the Holden Factory.

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We are rushing headlong towards Christmas - I can imagine few better and more lasting Christmas presents than a place on the History Handrail  Make sure you give us an email address as the system automatically generates a certificate with details of both giver and the name to be celebrated, along with year of arrival and country of origin.  REMEMBER there are 3 ways to register for places on the History Handrail ONLINE using a credit card, or DOWNLOAD an application form on the same page and forward to WalterTurnbull, GPO Box 1955, Canberra ACT 2601, or go to any BENDIGO BANK anywhere in Australia. They not only have application forms, but you can pay over the counter. Bendigo Bank will have a major promotion of the project over December and January

Please help us get the word out about this NATIONAL COMMUNITY PROJECT - just click to make it easy through our “Tell a Friend” section. The system does it for you automatically. You can enter up to five friends' emails at the one time.

Remember CHRISTMAS! Any questions please call us at the office on 02 6367 3290 or 0412 265 344

Andrew Baulch Campaign Director 10 December 2007

Issue Number: 18 (October, 2007)

Some of you are receiving a newsletter for the first time as we continue to update our records. Past newsletters and other information about this project are available on http://www.immigrationbridge.com.au/ We are rushing headlong towards Christmas - I can imagine few better and more lasting Christmas presents than a place on the History Handrail  Make sure you give us an email address as the system automatically generates a certificate with details of both giver and the name to be celebrated, along with year of arrival and country of origin. As I was about to send out this newsletter, I received a letter from Carlo Salteri AC accepting with pleasure our invitation to become an Ambassador to the Bridge. One of our foremost businessmen, co-founder of Transfield, and founder of Tenix, he wrote ""I was lucky that in 1951 I came to Australia to build a 132 kv power line from Talleware power station to Homebush sub. station. I liked the people and this country and decided to make it my home, never regretting it". We are proud to have his support for this great project. We are pleased to announce that SBS has agreed to support the project in a major way over the next two years through a combination of radio and TV promotion. They will be an official media partner of Immigration Bridge Australia. For those who haven't checked the latest list of ambassadors to the project, both SBS Chairman, Carla Zampatti AM, and Deputy Chairman Gerald Stone feature among their number. Australian cricketers born overseas noted. Cricket Australia becomes the first of what we anticipate will be many Australian cultural and sporting organisations to furnish us with details of representatives who were migrants. In the current context, we are very pleased that Andrew Symonds came to live here as a youngster. Check out the full list. What an impressive event is the Queensland Multicultural Festival. Tens of thousands crowded into the Roma Street Parklands on October the 14th to see performances from people of a multitude of backgrounds sing, dance, perform and rejoice. I was very pleased to be asked to speak, and returned quite hoarse from talking to so many people and organisations about our wonderful project. Not only have Queenslanders embraced the project, but their institutions are now offering to assist in whatever way they can.  Our Solar Roof has been the focus of much admiration and attention with the accent on the effects of climate change. I outlined our intentions for the roof and for the Solar Stock Exchange to last months meeting of ANZSES (the Australia and New Zealand Solar Energy Society), and we have inspired a project that could end up installing up to 20 hectares of solar roof in regional centres of NSW. It is a fascinating industry, with so much promise for the future, and so much chaos with governments both existing and aspiring trying to wrestle with carbon credits, feed-in tariffs, installation rebates, renewable energy certificates, pricing of green energy, and renewable targets which will help the industry make investment decisions going into the future. We are in the thick of it, talking to suppliers, politicians, energy retailers, and solar panel manufacturers and suppliers. I will try to provide regular updates on this moveable feast.   Sir Arvi Parbo expressed particular interest in the solar roof, saying that his mining exploration parties used solar power for their camps more than 30 years ago, where he found it much superior to carting generators and diesel around. Sir Arvi is an Ambassador to the Bridge, and I briefed him about developments in the project in Melbourne last week.

Co.As.It are wonderful institutions delivering numerous services to Australian Italians and teaching the Italian language. Co.As.It in NSW (www.coasit.org.au) next year celebrate their 40th anniversary and want to celebrate it with our project. They are going to encourage and help all Italians to record their stories of migration. Chief Executive Andrea Comastri and Italian Heritage Project Officer Linda Nellor have offered to help facilitate this process. As all states and territories have individual Co.As.It. organisations, I also met with Rose Patti and Paolo Baracchi of the Victorian arm (www.coasit.com.au) this week and they have come up with a number of exciting suggestions for collecting migration stories and encouraging all to take part in the History handrail program.

It was a privilege to attend and be invited to speak at the Springvale Neighbourhood House AGM last week when I was in Melbourne. I was so impressed with the numbers of cultures that were represented and supported and with their extensive programs to teach English. Samar Mougharbel, Gamini Fonseka and their great numbers of volunteers and teachers are doing an inspiring job.

Being processed in the office are registrations of migrants from Sierra Leone and St Lucia and Bavaria has also been nominated. Bavaria, like Prussia, was a kingdom after the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, and remained that way until 1871. These will take the list to 93 over the next few days, and I ask you to help us get to the magic 100 by looking at the list  and contacting friends who may have origins in those countries yet to be named. I am continually asked about countries of origin, and would like to emphasise that we are wanting to record the names of countries as they were when individual immigrants departed for Australia.

Question - was Sophie (de Montmollin), Governor Charles Latrobe's wife the first Swiss migrant? (Charles was first Governor of Victoria) I hope that we can with your help record some of the history of each migrant group to supplement the individual stories of migration in the Migration Book. I know if we try to identify the first migrant from each country we are likely to open up a huge can of worms, but a plaque with that sort of information, years and strength of migration, etc, is what we are intending to put in place with your assistance.

REMEMBER there are 3 ways to register for places on the History Handrail ONLINE using a credit card, or DOWNLOAD an application form on the same page and forward to WalterTurnbull, GPO Box 1955, Canberra ACT 2601, or go to any BENDIGO BANK anywhere in Australia. They not only have application forms, but you can pay over the counter. Bendigo Bank will have a major promotion of the project over December and January

With great articles written in such papers as the Dutch Courier in addition to the coming media partnership with SBS increasing numbers of Australians are finding out about the Bridge. Too many still unaware of it, so please help us get the word out about this NATIONAL COMMUNITY PROJECT - just click to make it easy through our “Tell a Friend” section. The system does it for you automatically. You can enter up to five friends' emails at the one time. If you think their firewall might block it, perhaps you could send a personal email.

Remember CHRISTMAS! Any questions please call us at the office on 02 6367 3290 or 0412 265 344

Andrew Baulch Campaign Director 25October 2007

Issue Number: 17 (Sept, 2007)

If ever there was a sign that the project is being embraced by Australians all over, a quick glance at recent registrations on the History Handrail shows me that they have come from places like Alawa in the NT, Mt Stuart in Tas, Golden Square in Victoria, Redland Bay in Qld, Murray Bridge in SA and Bunbury in WA. Please keep spreading the word, and if you haven't registered a name or names on the History handrail - get it on! Migration Book now embraces an interesting tale of Royal intrigue. We have just processed the story of Jean Prosper de Mestre, father of Etienne de Mestre, one of the most famous and successful horse trainers if Australia's history, winning the first two Melbourne Cups with Archer, and holding the record for Melbourne Cups won until Bart Cummings came along. Click Migration Book  I quote from a letter from the Deputy Labor Leader, Julia Gillard MP dated 21 August " The Immigration Bridge is an inspired concept, designed to represent and honour Australia's history of immigration since white settlement. Our culture is rich with the stories of people from all over the globe who have chosen to live in Australia. This will be an important monument to those stories. It will create a place where people can gather to experience and reflect upon the makings of our diverse nation. I take this opportunity to extend my support to the Immigration Bridge initiative and look forward to it becoming an important and celebrated monument in Canberra and across Australia. I congratulate you on your vision and dedication to this project and wish you all the best for the future". It was a privilege to attend and to speak at the recent FECCA (Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia) Congress in Hobart. It was a great gathering and I came away feeling that hundreds more people of influence in our community now were embracing the Bridge project. (Chairman Voula Messimeri-Kianidis is one of our ambassadors)

A rousing Victoria Launch. The Governor of Victoria, Professor David de Kretser AC and Mrs de Kretser were guests of honour at the launch held in the Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday the 25th July. Professor de Kretser moved the crowd of more than 400 with his own migration story and with his enthusiasm for the project. There was a distinguished line up of speakers who all emphasised the role this bridge will play in celebrating Immigration and recording its history. They included the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, John So, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship the Hon Kevin Andrews, the Minister for Victorian Communities, the Hon Peter Batchelor, and the Chairman of Bendigo Bank, Rob Johanson.

As many guests gathered for a drink afterwards to celebrate the success of the evening, I was approached by John Gibson, President of the Refugee Council of Australia, offering all the support that his organisation can muster - the last time we had seen each other was about 35 years before as students at university!

Our list of Honorary Ambassadors for the Bridge continues to grow, as eminent Australians recognise this wonderful community project. We are proud to announce two new ambassadors - the Chairman of SBS, Carla Zampatti AM, and the Chairman of CEDA, Ivan Deveson AO. For the full list see Honorary Ambassadors

Prussia became part of the German Empire in 1871, and Johann Baeansch migrated to Australia from there in 1857, so we have added Prussia to the list of countries of origin.

Once again I ask you to help by looking at the list  and contacting friends who may have origins in those countries. I am continually asked about countries of origin, and would like to emphasise that we are wanting to record the names of countries as they were when the soon to be Australian immigrant departed.

Sitting at breakfast in Hobart recently, I was talking about the Bridge to other guests and mentioned that our family had migrated to Australia in 1842, To my surprise one our the other guests exclaimed that her family had come in the same year, and what boat had mine come on? It turned out the they both were on the same boat, the "Arab". Wondrous to relate.

It is great to have both the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of SBS as ambassadors. As I said in the last newsletter and make no apology for repeating - Arthur Sinodines, the recently retired chief of staff of the Prime Minister said one of their major strategies was to "Fill the vacuum", or else somebody else will - if we are to compete with Kevin Rudd and John Howard for attention this year - we need you to pass on news of it to friends, work colleagues and family all over Australia. Just click here to make it easy through our “Tell a Friend” section. The system does it for you automatically. You can enter up to five friends' emails at the one time. If you think their firewall might block it, perhaps you could send a personal email.

Andrew Baulch Campaign Director 10th Sept 2007

Issue Number: 16 (July, 2007)

Stage set for a memorable Victoria Launch. The Governor of Victoria, Professor David de Kretser AC and Mrs de Kretser will be guests of honour at the launch to be held in the Melbourne Town Hall, Wednesday the 25th July from 6-8pm. Others who will be joining us include the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, John So, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship the Hon Kevin Andrews, the Minister for Victorian Communities, the Hon Peter Batchelor, and the leader of the Australian Democrats, Senator Lyn Allison.  The Greek and Croatian Consuls-General, the Chair of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, and a number of Honorary Ambassadors will be in attendance. If there are any subscribers who wish to come  (there is no fee attached) and have yet to let us know, please let our staff know by emailing immibridge@optusnet.com.au  or phone me on 0412 265344. (I will be in Melbourne from Monday onwards)

List of Honorary Ambassadors for the Bridge continues to grow, as eminent Australians recognise this wonderful community project. We are proud to announce that the following have accepted our invitations to become ambassadors. Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC "It will be an honour to be associated with this splendid project", Sir Arvi Parbo "..I will be delighted to support the project and join the illustrious list of Honorary Ambassadors", Voula Messimeri-Kianidis, Chair of FECCA, Hass Dellal OAM, Chairman of the Australian Multicultural Foundation, Prof. John Nieuwenhuysen, head of the Monash Institute for Study of Global Movements, Bruno Grollo AO, and today former Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser AC, CH. Maj Gen Digger James AC, AO (Mil), MBE, MC, OSjJ (Retd) has joined the list from Queensland. For the full list see Honorary Ambassadors

Two new appointments have been made to the Board of Immigration Bridge Australia (a registered not-for-profit organisation for those who didn't know) They are former ABC broadcaster and top PR consultant, Jane Singleton, and Graham French, former General Manager Australia for Leighton Contractors, and CEO of Bovis Australia.

And now we are 86! I really want to close the gap to 100 by the launch next Wednesday. Once again I ask you to help by looking at the list  and contacting friends who may have origins in those countries. It was most interesting to talk to the son on Shaher Mashni, who left Palestine the day before it become part of the newly created Israel post-war. I am continually asked about countries of origin, and would like to emphasise that we are wanting to record the names of countries as they were when the soon to be Australian immigrant departed.

Migration Book continues to swell. The number of stories has now passed the 200 mark, and I would like to urge all newsletter subscribers to take the time to record their family history in this way. The size of each story is 4500 characters, which is about two pages. Some stories are exceptional and we have been known to break a story into two parts, doubling its size.  We are at a pivotal point in our history, because many of the millions of migrants who came here post WW11 are getting older and we need to record their stories before they are lost. The Migration Book means they will be recorded online and in the Book itself on the Bridge for future generations to read and absorb. Every so often we get a big spike in numbers of readers of the stories, and assume that some school somewhere in the world is doing research for projects, assignments, etc, and it certainly makes all of us involved in this great community project very happy. The website is visited daily by people from all over the world. I hope the stories will number in the thousands by the time the Bridge is completed. Click Migration Book

I would like to reiterate that this is a NATIONAL, COMMUNITY project of exceptional size and importance. I noted that Mark Davis in the SMH of July 9 pointed out in reference to the Nation's capital "A capital has important symbolic work to do. It should reflect the nation's values, history and aspirations." There is no doubt that this Bridge embodies all of this. Even more to the point were Paul Byrnes remarks in a film review (SMH July14) of the Australian film "Lucky Miles". "It's almost as if we're ashamed of how we - the non-indigenous we - all got here. Australia has no Ellis Island to focus pride on, and few monuments to the courage of those who risked everything to start afresh. Immigration from 1946 has probably changed this country more than any single factor....It's as if we came from nowhere". The Immigration Bridge project will change all that! - all we can contribute to it.

Bendigo Bank will be conducting a number of regional launches to coincide with our Victoria launch next week, and all Bendigo Banks have supplies of brochures and History Handrail application forms, and they can be lodged and paid for over counter. The Chairman of Bendigo Bank, Rob Johanson will speak at the launch next Wednesday.

Arthur Sinodines, the recently retired chief of staff of the Prime Minister said a major strategy was to "Fill the vacuum", or else somebody else will, and I continue to say at every opportunity that if we are to compete with Kevin Rudd and John Howard for attention this year - we need you to pass on news of it to friends, work colleagues and family all over Australia. Just click here to make it easy through our “Tell a Friend” section. The system does it for you automatically. You can enter up to five friends' emails at the one time. If you think their firewall might block it, perhaps you could send a personal email. Andrew Baulch Campaign Director 21 July 2007

Issue Number: 15 (May, 2007)

Date set for momentous Victorian Launch. Since the time the Governor of Victoria indicated he would be available to join us for a Victorian Launch on July the 25th, our preparations which have been under way for some time have stepped up a gear.  The function will be held in the Melbourne Town Hall, Wednesday the 25th July from 6-8pm. It will be in the form of a cocktail function with speeches and presentations.   Our Guests of Honour will include the Governor, the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, the Chair of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, and Honorary Ambassadors. We are anticipating somewhere in between 500 and 1000 guests. Speaking of which, we are inviting all subscribers to the IBA newsletter who wish to come, so please let our staff know if you would like to attend by emailing immibridge@optusnet.com.au (there is no fee attached)

Governor of Victoria joins growing list of Honorary Ambassadors for the Bridge. The Governor of Victoria, Professor David de Kretser AC has accepted our invitation to be an Honorary Ambassador for the Bridge. Professor de Kretser was born in Colombo before being migrating as a child and going on to become world renowned medical researcher. He has also accepted our invitation to attend our Victorian Launch. For the full list see Honorary Ambassadors

Argentina joins the fold. With the numbers of countries represented on the History Handrail mounting, I dragged an atlas out at home and tried to work out which countries were still to be added to our list. The first atlas related to world before the downfall of communism in Eastern Europe, so was misleading as you can imagine! I looked at each continent and gathered the most likely suspects to be added in the countdown to 100 countries. You can help by looking at the list  and contacting friends who may have origins in those countries. One omission was Argentina, but since then, four Australians of Argentine origin have registered.

Afghanistan calling! Having spent some time familiarising myself with outback history, I was very much aware of the contributions of Afghan cameleers to transport and the growth of far inland areas. It has been of concern to me that no person of Afghan origin has been registered on the History handrail. I sent a letter to the Chairman of the  Afghan Australian  Association, Mr Abdul Khaliq Fazal, and he repied with a phone call from Afghanistan, where, as a former Minister for Public Works, he acts a special adviser to the President. We agreed to meet when he returns to Australia.

Bendigo Bank has added to its already considerable sponsorship support for our project

If we are to compete with Kevin Rudd and John Howard for attention this year - a really tough task as you know, we need you to pass on news of it to friends, work colleagues and family all over Australia. Just click here to make it easy through our “Tell a Friend” section. The system does it for you automatically. You can enter up to five friends emails at the one time. If you think their firewall might delete it, perhaps you could send a personal email. Andrew Baulch Campaign Director 21 May 2007

Issue Number: 14 (April, 2007)

Our Chairman, Laurie O'Donnell, our architect James Grose, Campaign Coordinator Jane Bowen-Jones and I presented the project to a select group of Tasmanians in the Hobart Town Hall the Wednesday before Easter. I was extremely pleased with the response of eminent Tasmanians asked to be Honorary Ambassadors to the Bridge. We were able to announce no fewer than six at that function. They were long-standing Lord Mayor of Hobart, Mrs Doone Kennedy (mentioned in the last newsletter), former Governor Sir Guy Green, Melva Truchanas, wife of Olegas Truchanas, a giant among wilderness photgraphers who brought so much of Tasmania's wilderness beauty to Australians and the world, Peter Behrakis, succesful businessman and leader in the Tasmanian Greek Community, Constantine Koukias, composer, modern opera director of the IHOS Music Theatre and Opera Company,  Dr Kalev Kruup, prominent member of the Estonian and former leading academic , and Julian Alcorso, acknowledged as one of Australia's very best winemakers. For the full list - Honorary Ambassadors

Constantine Koukias is increasingly well known for his opera spectaculars "To Traverse Water" and "Tesla - Lightning in his Hand" which have been presented in the "Ten Days on the Island" Hobart cultural festivals over past years, and elsewhere. He revealed in our discussions that he was a pupil of Ross Edwards, fellow Hon. Ambassador, and much esteemed of member of our design team.

Julian Alcorso's father was Claudio Alcorso, whose story of migration is an incredible one of triumph against the odds. He established a successful business having migrated to Australia in the thirties and tried to enlist to fight for our country after the outbreak of war, only to be promptly interred as an enemy alien, and spent the rest of the war in camps. Refusing to carry the bitterness of this experience through, he re-esablished business after his release, and went on to become a great champion of the arts, and was at the forefront of the Sydney Opera House Trust, instrumental in enabling that Australian icon to be completed.

Senator Bob Brown spoke enthusiastically and with a high degree of background knowledge about the the solar roof aspect of the design of the Bridge, quoting our Solar Adviser, Professor Andrew Balkers of ANU, co-inventor of "sliver-cell technology" that stands to revolutionise the output and lower the costs of generating electricity from solar energy. Solar Roof

We are still waiting on Belgium, but in the meantime the tally of countries represented on the History Handrail has no reached no fewer than 80. Check them out

I keep mentioning it, but as this is a community project, the size of which is seldom seen, we rely on you to pass on news of it to friends, work colleagues and family all over Australia. Just click here to make it easy through our “Tell a Friend” section. The system does it for you automatically. Andrew Baulch Campaign Director 19 April 2007

Issue Number: 13 (March, 2007)

As we draw near to our Tasmania Launch of the Bridge and its History Handrail and Migration Book programs on April 4th, we are proud to announce two new Honorary Ambassadors to the Bridge, Mr George Lekakis, for many years Chairperson of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, and much loved former long-standing Lord Mayor of Hobart, Mrs Doone Kennedy.

The Tasmania Launch will be held in the magnificent old Hobart Town Hall as a cocktail function and presentation between 6-8pm next Wednesday the 4th April. The Hobart City Council has embraced the project by giving us the use of the hall and its facilities, and will be represented at the function by the Acting Lord Mayor, Alderman Eva Ruzicka. As a community project, Immigration Bridge Australia is most appreciative of this contribution. The guests at the Launch will include Ministers and members of the Government and prominent members of the Opposition in Tasmania, as well as the Senators Brown, our new IBA Ambassador Mrs Doone Kennedy and other well known Tasmanians.

In another Tasmanian matter of note, financial powerhouse Tasmanian Perpetual Trustees is the partner of our principal sponsor, Bendigo Bank, in Tasmanian Banking Services, delivering community banks throughout Tasmania. Remember that Bendigo Banks throughout Australia can receive applications and accept payment for History Handrail places and will forward stories to us for the Migration Book.

The tally of countries represented on the History Handrail is now 78 - given the staggering number of new countries that have already come on board, we had to start running out of countries sooner or later. The are always anomalies, however - where is Belgium, for instance? Anybody knowing any migrants from Belgium please encourage them to get their names on the Bridge.

Our proposal for a Solar Roof is exciting in the extreme - 4000 sq metres and the what could be the longest single span yet constructed in Australia right in the middle of the nation's capital! This is featured in the March edition cover story "Urban Design" in the magazine of Engineers Australia

Bendigo Bank has just launched its own program to help customers support the environment – Generation Green. Generation Green encourages customers to reduce their carbon emissions, and to neutralise the carbon they do emit through buying carbon offsets. As this is a community project, the size of which is seldom seen, we rely on you to pass on news of it to friends, work colleagues and family all over Australia. Just click here to make it easy through our “Tell a Friend” section. The system does it for you automatically. Andrew Baulch Campaign Director 28 March 2007

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For any person wishing to purchase a place on the History Handrail from now on, CERTIFICATES will be automatically generated PROVIDED YOU SUPPLY US AN EMAIL ADDRESS with your purchase. What better present to give than one that will be there for your children and grandchildren (and beyond) to see?

This will be a spectacular year for the development of the Bridge, as we take the project to each and every State and Territory of Australia with a series of launches. In the meantime our design team will be going through the rigorous process of taking our concept to certification.

Newsletter #12 - February 2007

Our plans to build a solar roof on the bridge http://www.immigrationbridge.com.au/www/248/1001127/displayarticle/1006593.html

have created much interest, and articles of interest have started appearing in scientific and engineering publications, such as the CSIRO’s “ECOS7”

http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=EC134p7b.pdf

and on page 3 of the February 14 Edition of RENergy, Australian Alternative Energy News Report”, which comes out from Western Australia. Engineers Australia has an article in the pipeline on the Bridge for their March publication.

Our major sponsor, Bendigo Bank, has been active during the course of January promoting the project in all branches throughout Australia. Staff are now used to handling enquiries and reservations for the History Handrail, and all Bendigo Banks carry brochures and History Handrail forms. http://www.bendigobank.com.au/public/community/sponsorship_immigration_bridge.asp

The National Trust of Australia (Tasmania) has enthusiastically embraced our project and we are jointly promoting a launch for the project in the Hobart Town Hall on April 4^th as part of their Heritage Festival which runs throughout the month of April.

As you may know from previous newsletters, we are planning launches in each State and Territory throughout 2007. We will be combining with groups such as the National Trust, as well as multicultural and historical organisations to plan times that coincide with major festivals. Examples are Cultural Diversity Week in Victoria in Late March, and Multicultural Day in Queensland on October the 14^th. We hope you will join us for your state or territory launches and we will inform you of the timetable in newsletters to come.

Tally of countries represented on the History Handrail is now 77 http://www.immigrationbridge.com.au/www/248/1001127/displayarticle/1003986.html

Please take the time to pass word on about the bridge through the “Tell a Friend” section. http://www.immigrationbridge.com.au/www/248/1001127/displayarticle/1002315.html

The system does it for you automatically.

Andrew Baulch, Campaign Director, 15^th February 2007.

Newsletter #11 January 2007

Newsletter #3 July 2006
It is a wonderful privilege to see what a magnet this project is for the gathering of our migration history. We ask you all to take the time to prepare and submit your family’s migration stories. We have expanded the size of story that we can accept, and our staff take time to carefully edit stories where needed. Please remember that the surfaces of the bridge will carry these stories as well as the Migration Book, and it is a unique opportunity to record your family’s place in the history of Australian immigration.

We have a truly remarkable population – 38 countries are already represented on the History Handrail. We now have migrants registered in all the four centuries of migration to this country, ranging from First Fleeters in 1788, and the most recent in 2002. We will keep a score on the number of individual years that are filled, and will report on whatever interesting information that is forthcoming.

Our most popular year for arrival so far has been - in the 1700’s – 1788, 1800’s – 1838, 1900’s – 1955, 1956 equal. Most popular decade in the 1800’s was the fifties, and that no doubt had a lot to do with the gold rush, while the fifties have seen represented by far the most reservations, but somehow 1952 has mysteriously missed out so far.

I am very happy to announce that ActewAGL has come on board as our Capital Partner, and is working on the capacity of the Immigration Bridge to carry services such as broadband cable, etc connecting the Acton Peninsula with the Parliamentary Zone.

There will be further announcements very shortly.

I finish with a quote or two from a letter I received from Senator Ursula Stephens:
“As we have immortalised immigrants to Australia from many other countries through poetry, song, art and sculpture, there is no enduring tribute to the contribution of migrants from all over the world to the country that Australia has become.
The concept of the Immigration Bridge - with its metaphorical message of bridging culture – is a marvellous tribute to our wonderful migrant heritage.”

I congratulate the IBA committee for your vision, sense of community and your acknowledgement of the lasting legacy of those who have travelled so far to Australia, and who, in many thousands of cases, never again saw their native lands”
As an Irish immigrant, I am very pleased to lend my support to this wonderful project.”

A Migrant Story
Ivars (Charles) Eglitis, Latvia 1948
Charles left Riga, Latvia due to the impending invasion of Russian troops in September, 1944. He was 16 years old. Charles, his mother and sister travelled to Germany by ship and eventually managed to get to the British zone in Wurzburg where Charles finished High School. Later the family moved to Husum and it was from there, on 17th April, 1948 that he travelled by sea again, to Australia aboard an American ship, the "General S.D. Sturgis". The voyage took four weeks, arriving in Sydney on 14th May, 1948.The migrants from Europe signed a contract which stated that they had to work for the Australian Government for two years after their arrival. Charles worked in far north Queensland cutting cane for two seasons. After completion of his second season he was free to choose where he went so he signed up with the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority on 4th December, 1949 and that is where he stayed for the next 25 years. By the time he was retrenched in 1974 he was the Paymaster in one of the Snowy regions.In December, 1953, Charles married an Australian girl and in the next six years they had two daughters and a son. In 1974, the family moved to Canberra, Charles finding a job as a Project Officer with the National Capital Development Commission and his wife worked at Woden Valley Hospital.Charles suffered a heart attack in 1987 and had quadruple by-pass surgery in 1988. He continued to work until 1990 when he retired. He lived happily with his devoted wife enjoying grandchildren and great grandchildren until his sudden death of a massive heart attack on 13th December, 2002. He loved Australia and considered himself an Aussie.

Newsletter # 2; June 2006

Message from the Chairman

The Board is heartened and encouraged by the interest shown and responses received to date, in the Pre-Launch phase of the Immigration Bridge Project, as we continue to move forward, positively, towards a national official launch to be held in the next few months.

We have received tax exempt status from the Australian Taxation Office as a Tax Concession Charity and await specific listing as a Tax Deductible Recipient, that will allow corporations, businesses, organizations and individuals to make donations to the Foundation established to support the financing of the Project.

Hits on our website www.immigrationbridge.com.au and registrations on the History Handrail are increasing significantly on a daily basis. In talking with people in many cases descendants are unsure of the year of arrival of their ancestors and are therefore hesitant in registering the family name. You are now able to select the closest year using the prefix ‘c’ (circa) which will enable you to update your family entry if later research reveals the exact year. Many genealogical societies and migration research and heritage centres have expressed their interest in the Project. We hope this will help you.

Lt. Gen. Laurie O’Donnell AC (Retd)

A Migrant Story
1892 Micklos Zis, Austria
Micklos was a merchant seaman who jumped ship in Fremantle and made for the goldfields in Kalgoorlie. In September 1908, he married Angelina Armanasco, who arrived from Italy in 1905. They established a mixed farm in Kwolyin and butcher shops in Quairading and Shackelton. They prospered and had seven children and 13 grandchildren. 

Newsletter #1 May 2006
We welcome your interest in this great project. It is very satisfying to note that this truly national monument will not only be a significant piece of infrastructure for Canberra, but will fulfill part of the original recreational plans of Walter Burley Griffin.

It is our intention to officially launch the project in early August this year, and the final design and engineering process will take close to a year after that. We therefore hope to be able to start construction in the second half of 2007, and complete the project the first half of 2009.

2013 is Canberra’s Centenary year, and to have the Immigration Bridge completed and functioning as a major tourism drawcard will be a notable addition to the attractions of the nation’s capital.

The design as depicted on the website is conceptual only – it will go through extensive development over the next year. One of the most exciting aspects of this project was bringing together a truly unique team to come up with a conceptual design - an architect to start of with, then an engineer, a musician (composer) and a poet. The result is already a uniquely Australian bridge that gently undulates like the Australian landscape, and tells the stories of migration on its surfaces.

The bridge soars across Lake Burley Griffin, fully twelve metres above the surface of the lake to allow sailing under its entire length. The walking surface is six metres wide, and there is ten metre wide canopy to protect against the worst of the elements. There is elegance, with the walking surface only 150mm thick and the roof only 120mm thick, all supported by cables in the nature of a suspension bridge.

Conceptual drawings of the History Handrail - years of arrival, names and countries of origin will be laser engraved on the finest stainless steel available

The visitation to www.immigrationbridge.com.au has been considerable, and I encourage all of you to pass the news (and web address) on to your friends, so that by the time the official launch of the project comes around, we will have been able to add considerably to the numbers of you who have reserved places on the handrail. There are two ways of looking at it – 200,000 is a lot of names, or when expressed as a proportion of 10 million migrants who have come to Australia since 1788, it is mere fraction, and I don’t want people to be slow and disappointed to miss out.

Short Migrant Story
1842 Francis Baulch, England.
Francis was a farm labourer who left his native Somerset with his wife Ann, and their six children in search of a better life, hoping for an opportunity to acquire some land of their own. They sailed on the “Arab” and landed in Launceston, before soon going to Victoria and settling in the Port Fairy district. They prospered, had nine more children and a staggering 176 grandchildren.