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NameKlaus
Gendermale
Country of OriginGermany
Destination CountryAustralia
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Originally from Bremen in northern Germany, Klaus departed for Australia with his family in November 1954. It was my parents decision – mainly my father. Germany was sandwiched between Russia and America so politically, it wasnt very good. And my father was a bit of an adventurer. Its so hard to tell you what it was like. Just getting on a ship and standing on the deck and looking over to Pireas and seeing three hundred Greeks arrive all dressed in black. With all their belongings in baskets. After arriving in Melbourne in January 1955 and spending a few days at a migrant camp, Klauss family moved to Orange, New South Wales. Reflecting on life as a migrant, Klaus says there were two different cultures operating. There was the Australian culture at school and with his mates and then the old German ways at home. My siblings and I were going like crazy to adapt to Australia and become Australian. Germany just disappeared in a way. I was so busy adjusting, learning the language and all of the other nuances of being in this society, that there was very little reinforcement of what had happened in Germany. Later, however, Klaus began to question his identity and sought to make sense of it all during a visit to Germany. I started recording a lot of family history and wrote down all that stuff, kept a diary, went through peoples documents and compiled a family tree. Because Id been so dislocated, I wanted to know what those old roots were. I had a great sadness. There was no continuity of all the stories, all the folklore, all the lore. It was just cut off. Klaus, now a grandfather, is part of a big family again. Weve created our own milieu… Its all around me. Weve got sixty one years of it. But, for a migrant, Klaus says reflecting is a lifelong process. When he was awarded the Order of Australia for service to conservation and the environment in 2012 he had, what he calls, an aha moment. The honour was like a pat on the back or a handshake from his adopted homeland: Yes, youve been accepted. You are now Australian.

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