The family mantlepiece

Written by Guy Hansen
Published on 28 Jan 2025

In most homes in Australia, you will find a bookcase, mantlepiece or shelf with a proud display of family photos. These small intimate galleries chronicle the individuals, both young and old, who populate the family tree. Sometimes the images reach back two, or three generations, depicting siblings, parents and grandparents who embarked on a long and difficult journey to Australia.

This idea of a gallery of ancestors was an important metaphor in the development of the Library’s Hopes and Fears: Australian Migration Stories exhibition. The exhibition begins with a wall of photographs of different sizes, and different frames. Each photo was selected from the Library’s migrant history collections and is evidence of one individual migration story. They testify to how migrant journeys help make possible the life their descendants have in Australia today.

A wall at the entrance of the Library's Hopes and Fears exhibition decorated with framed family photos

While there is a key provided to the framed photos, the images are not labelled or interpreted. Rather it is left to the visitor to construct their own narrative of what is going on. The intention of the display is to transport the visitor to the emotional landscape of their own family and invite them to reflect on the migrant experience. When you look at these photos of a person from the past who spoke a different language, ate different food, and wore different clothes, but still looks familiar, it invites you to wonder what it was like to migrate to Australia.

From observing visitors in the gallery, and reading the comments in the visitors’ book, it is clear that the mantlepiece display is having an impact. People pause and reflect before launching into the main part of the exhibition which provides a timeline of the history of migration to Australia. 

Woman with curly hair standing in front of a wall of framed family photos in the Hopes and Fears exhibition

It Is not surprising that people respond strongly to the topic of migration. The most recent Australian Census, published in 2022, tells us that more than half of Australians have at least one parent born overseas or were, themselves, born overseas. Coming from all parts of the globe, these migrants help make Australia one of the most diverse nations in the world. The proportion of the population with a migrant background is even higher for each generation you go back. 

Today, it is a favourite past time for Australians to compare their backgrounds and celebrate their connection to a country or continent far away. For many being a part of a migrant family is a key part of their identity. For others, at the very least, it can be a good excuse for an overseas trip to see the old country!

The Hopes and Fears: Australian Migration Stories exhibition closes on 2 February 2025.

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