A Dutch-born woman who began a new life in Australia as a small child has added a new layer to the story of Australian immigration through special donations to the Bonegilla Migrant Experience.
Mynie Brown, who came to Bonegilla as three-year-old Mynie van Voorst with her parents and siblings in 1952, was too young to remember anything about life in the camp, but she’s been a regular visitor to the site, with the memories of her older family members providing an echo of the past.
“It’s a bit surreal in a way to know we were here (Bonegilla) and I’ve been back to Holland and seen where we lived and to come here from there it must have been very hard for my parents but they never complained,” she said.
Decades after the family’s short stay at Bonegilla, Mrs Brown donated toys and important family items to the Bonegilla Migrant Experience’s As a Child exhibition so that visitors to the nationally-significant historic site can look through a window into the centre’s rich past.
Among the treasures on show is a christening gown that Mynie’s mother brought to Australia.
With interchangeable waist ribbons (blue for boys, pink for girls) the gown has been worn by many of the family’s babies, including Mynie’s daughters and nieces.
A mother of two and grandmother of three, Mynie has also provided three much-loved dolls from her childhood as well as doll’s house furniture and other items that celebrate the playthings of years gone by.
“I thought, when I die, someone will pack them up and give them to an op-shop and I thought, no, they’d been in the family too long for that,” she said.
“When I donated them, it was a bit of mixed feelings but I was happy that I did it and when I saw them all displayed I was glad that others can enjoy them too.”
The dolls and other toys can be seen until April 24, 2022.
The is open Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 4pm.
