Migration Heritage Project

04/11/2026

There's still time to secure your seat for this exclusive sneak preview of 100 Years of the Steelworks with Craig Nealon. Be among the first to hear stories from Craig's upcoming book and view a special preview from the new video series before its public release.

Book via the MHP website: https://www.mhpillawarra.com.au and select the tab or email: [email protected]

01/11/2026

100 YEARS OF THE STEELWORKS - SNEAK PREVIEW
📢 REMINDER: Have You Booked Yet?

Don't miss this exclusive opportunity to be among the first to see a preview from Craig Nealon's forthcoming centenary history of the Port Kembla Steelworks including a sneak peek from his upcoming video series before they are released to the public.

This presentation by Craig will be hosted by the Migration Heritage Project and the Museum of People Country and Industry Project and will reveal the people, industry, migration and determination that forged Port Kembla's identity and shaped the Illawarra. Whether you have a family connection to the Steelworks, an interest in local history, or simply want to discover the remarkable story behind a century of steelmaking, this promises to be a fascinating evening.

Did you know?
✅ The Port Kembla Steelworks held world records for coke and iron production during the early to mid-1960s.
✅ Australia once produced some of the world's cheapest steel, helping drive national growth and development.
✅ By 1978, approximately 10,000 Steelworks employees had been born overseas, representing 67 countries and helping build the diverse community we know today.
✅ The vision of the Hoskins family led to the establishment of the Port Kembla Steelworks in 1928, laying the foundations for a century of industrial achievement.

Seats are limited. If you've been thinking about attending, now is the time to secure your place.

Event Details
📅 Thursday 12 November 2026
🕕 6.00 pm
📍Inside Industry Visitor Centre, BlueScope Northgate Entrance, Coniston, NSW
🎟️ FREE EVENT - Bookings Essential

👉 Book your free seat today and be part of the story of 100 Years of Steel before everyone else sees it.

🔗 Reserve your place now: Book Now via the link below

The history of the Port Kembla steelworks from its very beginnings in 1928 to the present day

29/10/2026

The series will be titled “Whose shoulders are we standing on?”

“This project addresses the risk of losing the Illawarra’s important stories of First Nations heritage, migration, industry, and our unique social history,” said Franca Facci, who leads the museum project. The project, which will be delivered in collaboration with Screen Illawarra.

Mini-documentaries about migrants who've shaped the Illawarra region will be made thanks to the bank's funding program

19/10/2026

"100 Years of the Steelworks - Sneak Preview"
MHP & MPCI 2026 Annual Presentation
12 November 2026

~All Welcome ~

The Migration Heritage Project and The Museum of People, Country and Industry Project are gearing up for a milestone celebration, and this year’s AGM Annual Presentation promises to be something truly special. As we mark 100 years of the Port Kembla Steelworks, attendees will be treated to an exclusive preview of Craig Nealon’s forthcoming centenary history - an engaging journey from the plant’s beginnings in 1928 to its modern day legacy. With Craig presenting immediately after the AGM, this free community event is set to be an inspiring look at one of Australia’s most significant industrial stories, shared by someone who knows it from the inside.

Craig will give a preview of the book he is writing documenting the history of the Port Kembla steelworks from its very beginnings in 1928 to the present day. Craig’s book will capture 100 years of history from one of Australia’s largest and most successful industrial sites in a single book in time for the centenary of the steel plant in 2028.

Date: Thursday 12 November 2026
Venue: Inside Industry Visitor Centre, BlueScope Northgate Entrance, Springhill Road, Coniston
Time: 6pm – 7pm

RSVP: Wednesday 11 November 2026 via the MHP website (link in comments)
or in the linktree link in bio if you are reading this post on Instagram
or email: [email protected]

The event is free but bookings essential

Free parking and disabled access available

28/09/2026

Congratulations to the Polish Association in Wollongong on their recent 70th Anniversary which was celebrated on Saturday 5 September in the Polish Association Hall at Gwynneville. The 70th anniversary brought people together to not only celebrate 70 years of the Association but to honour the Polish heritage and recognise the contribution of the Polish community to the Illawarra.

Find out more and see more photos of the celebration in the MHP September Newsletter (link in comments) or in Bio on Instagram

24/08/2026

In this month’s MHP Newsletter:

Personal stories of leadership nurtured across generations, to community milestones honouring decades of migration, and reflections on the housing challenges faced by newcomers in the post-war years as well as update on the development of the Museum of People Country and Industry.

Link in comments

14/07/2026

Housing solutions of the past – Hostels and Boarding Houses

Much like current FIFO workers – large employment sectors in the Illawarra attracted workers and new migrants by offering accommodation to them and their families. Built in 1936 the current Open Hearth Hotel in Warrawong was a boarding house for steel workers, later a hostel and finally converted to a hotel.

Brayton (Campbell St) and Breadalbane (Kembla St) in Wollongong were examples of more formal boarding houses while the Filippi boarding house in Cringila and a boarding house established by two Macedonian friends Kole Savkulov and Cane Kostevski in Port Kembla were examples of more informal options.

Source: Wollongong Migrant Heritage Places Study First Accommodation for Post-WW2 Migrants in the Illawarra (link in comments or in bio for Instagram users)

Feel free to share this post but please do not copy, store or send any individual images as they are subject to copyright. Photos supplied from private collections © Baart, Filippi and Savkulov families, Wollongong City Libraries Illawarra Images, M. Walker for MHP

08/07/2026

Housing solutions of the past - Tents, Garages and Caravans

In the 1950’s building standards and regulations weren’t as rigid as they are today so many people were able to build their own homes and live in temporary accommodation while it was being constructed. Many lived in garages, caravans or tents on site or in nearby camping grounds. Stuart Park was in fact a major camping ground where people could camp for up to 3 months while they found more permanent accommodation.

Source: Wollongong Migrant Heritage Places Study First Accommodation for Post-WW2 Migrants in the Illawarra (link in comments or in bio for Instagram users)

Feel free to share this post but please do not copy, store or send any individual images as they are subject to copyright. Photos supplied from private collections © van Gils, Deroy, van Duin and Jansen families and M. Walker for MHP Place Project

06/07/2026

solutions of the past – Prefabricated houses

With housing supply and affordability in the media recently, we dug up some of the ways people in the 1950s resolved the issue.

The Tenkate family bought 2 pre-fab homes and put them together to create one larger family home in Bulli. A few years later they sold it to the Schelle family to accommodate their 10 children.

While in 1951 the van Gils family bought a prefabricated house from Sweden and constructed it in Figtree.

Source: Wollongong Migrant Heritage Places Study First Accommodation for Post-WW2 Migrants in the Illawarra (link in comments or in bio for Instagram users)

Feel free to share this post but please do not copy, store or send any individual images as they are subject to copyright. Photos, supplied are from private collections © Schelle, van Duin family van Gils families and the National Archives of Australia

29/06/2026

75th Anniversary celebrated by the Illawarra Maltese Community

The Maltese Community was the first community group to be approached by MHP when in 2004 the George Cross Falcons Club at Lake Avenue Cringila hosted a preserving your local history workshop. Over a weekend in May 2004 two MHP committee members spent time with the community and recorded memories surrounding personal objects, many hand-made, that held a special connection and evoked memories of their homeland. The MHP were also given permission to scan photos held in the club’s photo albums as a means of recording and preserving migrant heritage in the Illawarra.

When the Community Relations Commission for a Multicultural NSW provided funds for an exhibition to highlight the heritage of a migrant community in the Illawarra, the MHP asked the Maltese Community and Club in appreciation of not only the hospitality and generosity shown, but in recognition of the one of the first, if not the first, club established by a migrant group in the Illawarra post WW2. In September 2006 the exhibition “George Cross Falcons Maltese Australians in the Illawarra” was held in the foyer of the Wollongong City Council Administration Building.

Congratulations to the Maltese Club on their anniversary and for their achievements over the past 75 years. Here is a look back at some of the photos taken during that May weekend and the exhibition.

More can be read about the Maltese community on the MHP website
https://www.mhpillawarra.com.au