President Margaret Jenkins gave the meeting an update on recent activities at U3A Benalla. This included:-
Margaret then introduced guest speaker Sabine Smyth who spoke about the Benalla Migrant Camp and the personal efforts of her committee to document the history of the Camp including to retain several of the buildings on the site.
- Benalla Council has allocated $10,000 in its 2025/2026 budget to develop a Master Plan and investigate how the BS&CC (Benalla Seniors and Community Centre) building might be extended.
- Margaret Jenkins and Doug Smith met with new Benalla Council CEO Peter Keane to put the case for more U3A meeting space at the BS&CC.
- Upcoming events include a BBQ and Ask a Question on Wednesday 22nd October at 12 noon at the BS&CC. This free event is being sponsored by the Good Things Foundation as part of Get Online Week.
- The guest speaker for August will be a Benalla Ambulance person speaking on the AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) located in BS&CC building.
Margaret then introduced guest speaker Sabine Smyth who spoke about the Benalla Migrant Camp and the personal efforts of her committee to document the history of the Camp including to retain several of the buildings on the site.
The key points of the presentation included:-
- A displayed array of photos showing the camp as a village within the town with its own shop, crèche, chapel, hospital and cinema and very interestingly the people that made up the population.
- Documenting the History of the Benalla Migrant Camp has been a 12 year passion of Sabine’s.
- The Australian Government developed the White Australia Policy that promoted assimilation and the use of labor resources for developing post war infrastructure like the Snowy mountains scheme.
- The Benalla Migrant Camp, established in 1949, was a holding camp following WW2, where migrants from the Baltic States often called “Bolts” were sent by the Australian Government (as displaced persons).
- On arrival in Australia the migrants were processed at the Bonegilla Camp in Wodonga and dispersed to holding centres.
- The Benalla Camp held over 500 men, women and children of various nationalities.
- Benalla was chosen as it was able to supply manual work for the migrants in part through existing industries like Reynolds Chains and The Carpet Factory located in Samaria Road, where both men and women were employed.
- Migrants had to stay in the camp for a minimum of two years and pay rent to the Government during their stay.
- The “Benalla Experiment” as it was known allowed widows and mothers with children to work.
- Sabine launched a program in 2013 and formed a Committee to preserve the Camp history.
- Sabine was successful in 2015 to have Heritage Victoria list the site as of State Significance, a major milestone in preserving the site for historical purposes.
- A book titled “Benalla Migrant Camp A Difficult Heritage” was launched in 2015. Copies are located in the Benalla Library
- Hut 65 at the Camp is nearing restoration and will open soon to visitors showing a photographic display of the Camp history.
Margaret thanked Sabine for her informative and passionate presentation and presented her with a U3A Benalla pen.
Doug Smith
Publicity Officer
Doug Smith
Publicity Officer
