Why do people choose to leave the country of their birth and travel half a world away to a country they do not know? Is it to start a new life? Is it a flight from a troubled homeland? Or does it stem from a hunger for adventure?
Bryce Courtenay took one look at the Australian light, breathed the air, and knew he had found the country he wanted. Elizabeth Jolley was also captivated by a new kind of light. She shares with us her views of the migrant experience through extracts of previously unpublished writing.
The contributing authors include: Helen Vatsikopoulos - brought to Australia by her parents as a child, then struggled during her teen years with the notion of cultural difference but now finds security in being part of a Greek family; actress Gosia Dobrowolska - came for her husband's career and established one of her own; Dorinda Hafner - did not know she was "black" until she left her home in Ghana, but has made a career overcoming racism with humour; Tomek Sikora and Eryk Fitkau - Polish-Australian photographers who have brought new perspective to our advertising industry; Dr Tenshi Ayukai - crusades to save the living coral, from the polluted waters off Japan, to the Great Barrier Reef; and "The Three Tenors", Hao Zhou, Wei li Xing and Xie Kun - provided the chance to sing Western-style opera when they moved to Australia.
