Youth Migration to Postwar Australia (1946–1973): A Social, Cultural, and Oral History

This thesis uses life story interviews recorded by the Australian Generations Oral History Project between 2011 and 2015 to examine experiences and memories of youth migration to postwar Australia between 1946 and 1973. It argues that age, and specifically the life stage of youth, crucially shaped experiences of postwar migration to Australia—and that migration altered experiences of youth. It also shows that examining young migrants’ experiences outside of Australia, and treating their whole lives as relevant to Australian history, can radically transform understandings of what constitutes Australian history.