Published on: 2 June 2021





On Tuesday 1 June, the Year 6 boys visited the WA Maritime Museum in historic Fremantle to explore the stories of people who migrated to Australia. On arrival the boys explored the Welcome Walls to fulfil Dr. Males’ challenge to locate his father’s name, who himself migrated to Australia from Croatia. As part of our excursion, we undertook an Interactive Gallery Tour to explore the life of an Italian fishing migrant who came to Fremantle in the early 1900s. Along the way the boys enjoyed recreating some of his challenges and achievements in his experienced during his life.

The Year 6 boys also had the opportunity to explore a range of artefacts that represented the stories and contributions of five different migrants who came to Western Australia between 1891 and 1968. We discussed the motivations of each migrant and how these artefacts reflected their journey to Australia as migrants.

Year 6 Teacher Jack Utting noted that “the Year 6 boys relished the opportunity to interact with the migration artefacts in the Maritime Museum, often drawing parallels to the migration stories of their parents, grandparents and ancestors. It was fantastic to hear the boys explain the life story of each investigated migrant using these historically significant objects.”

After spending the morning in the Maritime Museum, the boys and their teachers all enjoyed sharing their lunchtime together in the Esplanade Park.

Finally, the boys met the Fremantle Ports’ Community Engagement Tour Guides under the CY O’Connor Statue, where they began a walking tour around the Harbour. On the tour they considered key figures who engineered the impressive infrastructure of Fremantle port and how the surrounding landscape has changed since the first migrants arrived. The boys were most excited to conclude the tour at the top of the Ports Administration Building Observation Deck. The aerial, 360-degree, panoramic view stretching out from Fremantle Port towards the Indian Ocean served as a final reminder of the journeys that so many migrants have made to Australia, from many different backgrounds and locations around the world over the past 200 years.

Community Engagement Specialist Jane Edwards commented “We had a great time hosting the students and I wanted to say how well behaved they were. A delight. We hope Christ Church Grammar School will come back again soon.”