Immigration publicity photos

By the 1960s the Immigration Department’s publicity campaign to attract migrants to Australia was in full swing.

Initially migrants from the United Kingdom were the focus of the campaigns. As interest waned the campaigns expanded to include northern European countries.

The Dutch were considered highly desirable migrants as it was assumed that they would ‘assimilate’ into Australian life easily and happily.

These images come from a large set of photographs that was used by the Immigration Department as part of its campaign to attract Dutch migrants to settle in Australia in the 1960s. The photographs highlight plentiful food, the modern conveniences in new Australian homes, and a healthy lifestyle in wide open spaces.

A group of children sitting and playing on the carpet in a classroom.
A modern kitchen with a stove, radio and yellow canisters. The drawers and shelves are dark pink.
A woman examining a pineapple in a fruit shop.
A woman hanging sheets on a Hills Hoist clothesline.
A mother and father with two sons in speedos walking down a sand dune at a beach.
A man and a woman examine an appliance in a shop.
Men working in a factory.
A woman sits reading a book on the front porch of her house. Her small son sits on the steps.
A woman with her legs elevated in a hospital bed.
A woman wearing a floral apron reaches into a full refrigerator.

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