Pennington Gardens Reserve & Migrant Memorial

Pennington Gardens Reserve & Migrant Memorial

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Posted 2013-11-02 by Dave Walshfollow


At the end of the Second World War Australia had a great fear of invasion, and a prominent politician of the time conceived a slogan which was adopted by the government - populate or perish .

After first turning to the United Kingdom as a source for migrants, the search subsequently broadened to other non-English speaking countries in Europe including Greece and Italy. Migrants were offered subsidised passages to Australia, earning those from England the name ten pound Poms.



Eight migrant hostels were established in Adelaide and country areas of South Australia to house the new arrivals for periods of up to five years until they could be re-housed. An area of 40 acres on Grand Junction Road at Pennington formerly used to house workers for the Finsbury munitions factory was co-opted for use as the huge Finsbury Hostel in 1950, and the New Australians lived in uninsulated galvanised iron Nissen huts. It must have been like living in an oven in summer time.



There is believed to be only one building still standing from all the original hostels in South Australia, a Nissen hut once used in the Glenelg Migrant Hostel. It is in private ownership and not open to the public, but can still be seen from the road. You can see photographs of what the hostels originally looked like in the State Records Flickr set Migrant Hostels in South Australia .



The huts continued to be used by new migrants from other areas including former Prime Minister Julia Gillard until 1985, when the hostel was finally closed. Thankfully some of our more recent migrants and asylum seekers now receive a better welcome to the country.



Today Pennington is a very different place, and there is no trace of Finsbury hostel. But it lives on in the minds of thousands of former residents, and the City of Charles Sturt has now landscaped Pennington Garden Reserve into an attractive park and installed art works to commemorate the lives of all those who once lived in the area.

The Migration Museum has also worked with the City of Charles Sturt as part of its Hostels Stories Project.



Pavers engraved with the names of some staff and residents meander through large hoops, which are engraved with recollections of former residents. One hoop reads The laundry block was a good meeting place for housewives while another recalls Rain, mud, deep ditches, high wire fences, a feeling of being trapped.



A large shelter with seating and a barbeque at the park also contains more information about Finsbury Hostel, and the people who came to live in South Australia.



Nearby some Kaurna sculptures celebrate the indigenous land owners and tell their memories of the place and how it was used before European settlement.



A garden of memories in Pennington Gardens Reserve contains touching simple stories from a selected few people who lived at the hostel, including some from Chile, Hungary, Pakistan, Russia and Scotland.



In the park garden I found a native Pigface plant, which has healing properties and indigenous people once used to relieve pain. I wondered if the choice of plant was intentional - it seems highly appropriate for this place which brings mixed emotions to many people.

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145124 - 2023-06-13 21:57:50

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