New to Australia

During the years following World War II Concordia’s staff and student population was enriched by refugees and migrants from many European countries such as Latvia, Estonia, Poland and the Ukraine.
In the late 1940s it was very difficult to find domestic staff for the girls hostel.
A 1949 report somewhat ungraciously states that ‘we have forced to employ two Baltic migrants, despite the fact that this meant accommodating three children of tender age. We shall probably be obliged to engage another such migrant.’ Nevertheless, when a new cook from Latvia introduced the girls to her home cuisine the tasty results led to requests for plenty of second helpings.
A full page article in which a refugee Latvian student describes the conditions in Europe he left behind appears in the 1950 Brown and Gold magazine, and draws attention to a unique group of ‘new Australians’ at Concordia. The 1961 magazine features an article entitled ‘A Memorable Sea Trip’ in which a student reflects on the adventure of migrating to from the Netherlands to Australia by ship.
By 1960 students from overseas were leaving their home countries in order to attend Concordia for their secondary education. In 1962 Anna Tan from Malaysia was the first Asian student to enrol as a boarding student at Concordia; and the following year saw another first when two students from Papua New Guinea attended the college.
By 1964 overseas students formed a significant ‘minority group’ at Concordia. There were representatives from Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, New Zealand and the United States, as well as sons and daughters of Australian missionaries serving in PNG.
It was estimated that at that time 7% of students either held foreign citizenship or came from overseas to study at the College.