Yungaba Immigration Centre

For the migrant hostel in Rockhampton, see Yungaba Migrant Hostel.
Building in 2015
Migrant group on the lawn at Yungaba, 24 June 1958
Migrant group on the lawn at Yungaba, 24 June 1958

Yungaba Immigration Centre is a former immigration reception centre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The centre was built in 1887 in Main Street, Kangaroo Point, along the Brisbane River. The two-storey brick building was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992.[1]

History and use

A new facility was needed as the existing immigration centre in William Street was inadequate.[1] The first residents were passengers on the migrant ship Duke of Buccleuch who landed on 6 December 1887. While its primary purpose always remained the same, at various times the Yungaba Immigration Centre was used for a range of different purposes.

The centre "has operated as a temporary refuge for the destitute; a reception centre for troops returning from the Boer War; an assembly and departure point for Pacific Islanders being repatriated as a result of the White Australia Policy in the early 1900s; an accommodation centre for workers building the new Story Bridge during the 1930s; and as a hospital that focused on treating venereal diseases during World War II".[2] Following World War II, it was used as a migrant reception and training centre for European migrants. The volume of post-war immigration was such that the hostel was unable to cope with all the new arrivals, and the bulk were re-directed to empty military camps around the Brisbane, especially Camp Columbia at Wacol.[1]

Structure

The ground floor contained cubicles for married couples and dormitory type accommodation segregated by gender on the upper level.[1] The structure suffered from poor drainage and lacked wharf and quarantine facilities. A poorly implemented wharf was constructed in 1887 and then rebuilt to improve access.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Yungaba Immigration Depot (entry 600245)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "Yungaba Immigration Centre", Historical essay by Dr Julie Ustinoff Archived November 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
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