HIS3MHI: SEMESTER 2, 2018

Research Essay: Turkish Migration - What was the

hardest part of migrating to Australia as a young
man in the 1990’s?

Analyse of the Turkish migration to Australia (Melbourne in particular) from the 1960’s to the
late 1990’s and discussing the hardest part of migrating to Australia.

Goksu Sky SAHIN

Tutor: Ruth Ford
 THE TURKISH MIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA FROM THE 1960’S TO THE
LATE 1990’S AND THE PUZZLES OF MIGRATION.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT: THE JOHNNIES AND THE TURKS

After the World Wars Turks in Australia were interned as enemy aliens and as a result from the

Battle of Gallipoli, the 1920 Enemy Allies Act prohibited more Turks entering Australia for five years,

and Asiatic Turks continued to be prohibited from entry to Australia under the White Australia

Policy.i However, most Turks were classified as European rather than Asiatic therefore were able to

immigrate. Immigration from Turkey to Australia declined in the first half of the 1980’s but then

resumed in the second half due to high

inflation and unemployment in Turkey.ii Since

then, migration from Turkey has declined,

with most arriving under the Family Stream of

the migration with smaller numbers as

general skilled migrants. iii

Cypriot Turks were among the first Turkish to

arrive to Australia mainly during the 1950’s

and came to Australia as skilled tradesmen.

However, the first wave of Turkish migration

Figure 1 Turkey: Signing Australia/Turkish Migration Agreement, 1967
[NAA: A1200, 11339854] began in the 1960’s after a bilateral agreement

was signed by both the Australian the Turkish Governments. The migration period was prominent

between the 1960’s and the 1990’s. Significantly, the arrival of plane loads of Turkish migrants in

1968 marked the most significant encounter between Turks and Australians since the 1915 Gallipoli

campaign. iv
 A NEW BEGINNING: THE BILATERAL AGREEMENT

In October 1967, Australia and Turkey signed a

bilateral agreement on assisted migration.

“This brought the first significant wave of migrants

to Australia from outside western Europe since 1901,

including Australia’s first large Muslim population” v

Teresa Gambaro, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Citizen.

Figure 2 Signing Australia/ Turkish Migration Agreement [NAA: A1200,

11339851]

The bilateral agreement provided assisted passage to Turkish migrants. This also helped to build

Australia’s population and expand its workforce. Around 19,000 assisted Turkish migrants arrived in

Australia between 1968 and 1974.vi Members from the Cypriot

Turkish Association and the Australian Islamic Federation

were waiting for the new Turkish migrants to arrive at

the Sydney Airport. This was a moment of victory for

the Cypriots because they now had their own people

with them and each year the numbers were

increasing. The Turkish people were also grateful as

they were greeted and welcomed by their own people.

However, it wasn’t only the Australian-Turkish people that

wanted more Turks to arrive, Australian officials

Figure 3 Immigration: Migrant arrivals in Australia - First Turkish
assisted passage migrants arrive at Sydney [NAA: A12111, 7501296]
 [also] hoped that many of Turks will decide to stay once they have become absorbed in the

Australian way of life.vii

THE TURKISH COMMUNITY

The Turkish community preferred to live in

suburbs such as Coburg, Brunswick and

Broadmeadows mainly because the first

Turks in Melbourne where there. Being in

the same area as other Turks, gave a sense

of union and relief for the migrants. Turks

believe that they were like a family

Figure 4 Ferda Şahin’s House in Brunswick
together. They experienced everything

together. They all went through hell, in the factories, in the streets. They didn’t know anything. They

never had any Australian friends. Australians didn’t like visiting or inviting others as they did. The

Turks enjoyed each other’s company and visited each other a lot. viii Housing was also cheap in those

areas, so they preferred to acquire housing there. Additionally, construction of one of Melbourne’s

earliest mosques was built in Coburg in the year 1972 and as practising Muslims that was one of the

greatest impacts to choose Coburg as

their residential place.ix Many of the

migrants also were fortunate enough to

find job vacancies at the Ford Motor

Company thus explains why

Broadmeadows was also a preferred

suburb. x

Figure 5 Ferda Şahin working at the Ford Motor Company, 2015

 WE CAME AS WORKERS – WE BECAME CITIZENS

Although Turks coming to Australia were classified as permanent settlers and the Turkish Minister of

Labour Ali Naili Erdem rejected the idea that Turks were only coming to Australia for a limited timexi,

many of the migrants began their journey here in Australia believing that it was for the short-term.

The migrants planned to work, save money and return to their homeland. However, that did not

happen. It wasn’t as easy as they dreamt. The migrants mainly came in their early adulthood and

they had formed their families here. They had children and thought it was best for their children to

seek education in this country rather than back home. As their children grew older, it was near

impossible to settle back in Turkey. The migrants had labelled Australia as home. They created their

families here, they formed many friendships,

they bought their homes and cars in this country.

They invested for the future for their children in

this country. They were living the “Australian

Dream”. Sure, they did struggle a lot. There were

days, were they did not have a cent in their

pockets. There were days where they did not

even see their children from working overtime,

but they did not give up because of their dreams.

They were on a journey to build a better future

Figure 6 Turks at Ericsson Pty Ltd, North Coburg, 1971 [NAA:
A12111, 7422232] for their children.

CASE STUDY: FERDA ŞAHIN

Ferda Şahin was only twenty-two years of age when he decided to migrate to Australia. It sure has

been a wild rollercoaster for him. Having spent his whole life in a village in Turkey and suddenly
 moving to a city down under wasn’t really what he was

expecting from life. His wife at the time was also from

Turkey but was living in Australia with her family. Ferda,

sacrificed his life and his own family to start a new life

with her in Australia. He didn’t need to change his life

over to such a degree where he had to start all over, but

it was a matter of fact of pleasing his wife and trying to

keep her happy and in all respects didn’t want her to be

away from her family. He also knew that he would have

a better life in Australia with his family. Have you ever

witnessed a person that sacrificed his whole life for his Figure 7 Ferda and Gönül Şahin at their wedding day,
1992
significant other and future with his children? Well I have,

and that person is my father…

WHAT WAS THE HARDEST PART OF MIGRATING AS A YOUNG MAN IN THE 1990’S?

Ferda Şahin lived a bewildering life here in Australia. As the only son and the youngest child of the

family, he flew away from the nest to start a new beginning. Starting a

new life did have a fair amount of consequence to it. He learnt the skills of

adulthood. He learnt how to be independent. He learnt that one doesn’t

always get what he or she desires from life. He learnt that he had to work

hard to live and to look after his family. And most importantly, he learnt

that homesickness wasn’t the way he wanted to continue his life. He

wasn’t a son anymore. He was a husband and a father of two. He

understood that he had to nurture and love his own family more. The love

in his heart, the warmth and the compassion were now mainly for his wife

and children. Although, he still maintains a strong relationship with his

Figure 8 Ferda Şahin aged 5, 1973
 family overseas, he admits that this was his destiny and he is grateful every day for the blessings God

has showered him with.

EMPLOYMENT

Most of the Turks were working in factories at the time as it was reported that 25 percent of the

Turks were skilled, and 75 percent were unskilled.xii The Australian Government granted jobs to

immigrants in favour of their hard work and resilience. The Turks were working extremely hard

because their wage was low, and they had huge responsibilities such as paying the rent for their

house, saving up for a car and most importantly trying to save up for their return ticket back to

Turkey. The factories that the Turks mainly worked in were Ericsson Pty Ltd, the Chef Email factory

(rephrased as Ocak Fabrıkası by the Turks), Nonferral: a copper and aluminium factory and lastly the

Ford Motor Company. xiii Due to the unfortunate happenings in the Battle of Gallipoli, there was a

stereotype against the Turks living in Australia. However, the Turks always completed their

designated tasks and jobs with diligence

and that was acknowledged by the

Department of Immigration. In 1971, the 4th

of June, the Department of Immigration

Canberra, released a statement to express

gratitude for Turkish breadwinners.

“They are highly regarded by employers as

excellent workers and their contribution to

the social and cultural fabric of Australian

life will be valuable. The employment

position with Turkish breadwinners is

Figure 9 Statement Release by the Department of Immigration Canberra,
1971
excellent, they have a good work record…” xiv

Department of Immigration, CANBERRA. A.C.T. 2600. 4 June 1971

THE PUZZLE OF MIGRATION: Not Knowing What To Expect

Along with the satisfaction and welfare that came along with employment, it was scary because my

father, Ferda Şahin, just like any other migrant did not know what to expect. He was twenty-two

years old when he left Turkey and didn’t have any experience working apart from hospitality during

his secondary years. In 1992, only after twenty-five days of arriving to Melbourne, he was employed

at the Chef Email factory (Ocak Fabrıkası) and began working straight away. It was a new challenge

for him. His lack of English was a purpose of entertainment for English-speaking labourers in the

workforce. He mainly had to use body language and use his hands to symbolise what he wanted to

say. There were a few Turks that understood the language and helped each other out but when they

were not around, life was tough. They were working individually but that did not stop the bullying or

the verbal abuse that occurred. The management was happy to see these migrants working harder

than the Australians, however, they weren’t always present, so co-workers took advantage of that

and were making fun of the migrants.

“They would always laugh at us and make fun of us because we didn’t understand their language.

We were afraid that they would keep laughing so we couldn’t even ask for help when we needed

to”xv

That explains why they were so persistent.

THE PUZZLE OF MIGRATION: Having No Choice

My father migrated to Australia to live a better life with my mother. Australia offered better

opportunities than Turkey at the time, so it was reasonable for my father to come to Australia. He

was aware that everything around him was going to change and that he was going to face

challenges.

“The hardest part of migration was having no choice.”xvi

Obviously, he wasn’t forced into anything. However, the effort to start a family in a new country did

some severe outcomes. He didn’t have a choice. His background was Turkish and only spoke that

language. As he was also a high-school graduate he did not have further study in English and that led

him to struggle quite a lot. Although, he was putting in the effort to learn and adapt to the language,

it wasn’t that easy.

“If there is one thing that I learnt about migration it is that one must educate him/herself. If you

educate yourself, you will always be able to stand up for yourself and speak up. If you are a victim of

something, you will easily be able to defend yourself. You will be able to protect the ones around you.

You wouldn’t be experiencing the hardships that I faced. If you really want to achieve something and

succeed in life, really chase after your dreams and work hard. Hard work will always pay off and

people will learn to respect you.”xvii

My father didn’t have any knowledge of the English language so in the workforce when he was a

victim of bullying and segregation, he didn’t have a choice to stand up for himself because he lacked

the basics of the language.

“I felt like I was in a deserted island. Or like an abandoned forest, surrounded by cannibals, they were

staring at me with hate and disgust and were ready to bite my head off.” xviii

THE PUZZLE OF MIGRATION: The Notion of Loneliness

The notion of loneliness and isolation was a mutual feeling amongst all the migrants. Some had left

their partners behind, some left their children and others like my father left their family behind.

Despite having my mother and her family in Australia, my father felt incomplete. He had left behind

his parents, siblings and friends. He did not know anyone from here. He was dealing with the

endeavour of living in a foreign country with no knowledge of the language or any societal norms

and expectations. There was a huge cultural diversity between the Aussies and the Turks and it took

a while for my father to get used to the Australian way of living. As years went by, isolation was still
 present. He had formed

friendships with many Turks

but couldn’t form a friendship

with the Aussies mainly

because he couldn’t speak

English. Although he met new

people it was difficult for him

to feel like at home because

his family was not with him. xix

Figure 10 Ferda Şahin with his family and wife's family, 2003.

LETTERS

The main form of communication was via writing

letters. These letters are quite significant because

I can feel my father’s emotions strongly. In fact, it

is quite sorrowful because it seems as though his

family is drifting apart. Writing letters did take

time and when one side didn’t reply to a letter as

soon as they received it the other side feels as

though they have been forgotten. And that is a

feeling that no one should ever have to

experience.

Figure 11 A Letter from Ferda Şahin's Younger Sister, 1992.

 “My beloved brother, I have watched your wedding video that you have sent. I congratulate you

both. I am sorry and really upset that I couldn’t come to your wedding. I just want you to know that I

wish you time a lifetime of happiness. The important thing is for you to be happy with your wife.

Never upset each other and always shower each other with love and respect.”

My father’s sisters couldn’t make it to the wedding due to the long distance. My father had sent a

copy of the wedding video to his sisters and parents. From the letter, it is quite obvious that his

sisters were quite saddened that they wouldn’t witness their brother’s happiest day. Observing the

sisters’ response, it can be understood that my father was also devastated that no one from his

family was there with him on his wedding day. This reflects back on his loneliness and the isolation

he felt. A major consequence of migrating to another country.

“My son Ferda,

I hope you are all well, may God

increase your happiness. We are good,

we always think about you two and

wish you the best. We think about you

as much as you think about us. Like I

said, we are really good. My son and

daughter-in-law, happy New Year, I wish Figure 12 A Postcard from Ferda Şahin's Parents, 1993.

you both the best in everything. Also, I hope you bring on great successes from your jobs. I am kissing

both of you, and especially my grandson Furkan. Your mother also sends her regards and wishes you

a very good year. Sending you lots of kisses.”

 Due to the low wage that migrants used to receive, it was difficult to go overseas. It would take them

as long as five to six years or even more to save up and go to Turkey to see family and relatives. Due

to their Islamic background, they couldn’t celebrate Eid in Turkey in the traditional way. Celebrating

festivities like that would be disappointing because migrants really don’t have any family members

with them. Along with Eid, they had to celebrate New Year’s Eve separate from their families and

sending postcards to each other was a compassionate way to remember one another. xx

“Ferda, in your letter that you wrote for me you

reproached me for not writing enough letters to you.

You are right, I know but writing letters take too much

time. You think that I forgot about you. That is not

right. Absolutely no. I think about you every second,

there is not a moment where I don’t think about you. I

missed you so much. You made me cry when I was

reading your letter.”

Again, my father’s emotions are displayed quite

clearly in his older sister’s letter. My father was lost in

Figure 13 A Letter from Ferda Şahin's Older Sister,
1994. the abyss of aloneness and hearing back from his family

not only upset him but also worried him. These letters were how they continued their

communication. It was how they explained their problems or the day-to-day things they used to go.
“Uncle when are you going to come back? I miss you

both so much. Uncle on the 19th of this month, I going

to go next to my Aunt Sümeyya, I will kiss her for you.

What is my aunt doing? I miss her too. I hope you come

back. I love you two so much. Uncle when you are here

your presence is so obvious, your voice, your steps, the

room you slept in, it’s really missed. The village isn’t

the same anymore. It is not the way it used to be when

you were here. We all miss you dearly.”

“The hardest part of migration was not knowing what life

Figure 14 A Letter from Ferda Şahin's 12-year-old niece, 1992.
was going to be like. I left all my family behind. I was living in

a foreign country which I had no information about. I missed my family a lot during my twenty-six years of

living in Australia. I still do miss them a lot. Everyday. It was much difficult at the beginning though. The

only form of communication I had was writing letters to my family. Ringing them really wasn’t an option.

It was too expensive then. It was around two to three dollars per minute of dialling overseas. And only my

older sister had a telephone. So, I couldn’t get in touch with my parents for a long time. I used to write a

letter every week to my parents. But it would take more than three weeks for the letters to be delivered

and at times it would take a month or two to write a letter back. My only motivation and hope were

checking the mailbox for a letter every day. Those letters meant everything to me. It was difficult to visit

my family in Turkey, but those letters made it a bit more bearable. I felt my family’s presence in those

letters. I smelt my mother’s smell through those letters and my father’s determination to stay strong

through those letters. Those letters gave me a sense of purpose to live in Australia with my own family.” xxi
i
National Archives of Australia, Muslim Journeys: Turks [website], 2018, <
http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/snapshots/uncommon-lives/muslim-journeys/arrivals.aspx> accessed. 5
October 2018.

ii
Australian Government: Department of Immigration and Citizenship (2014), <
https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/02_2014/turkey.pdf> accessed 5 October 2018.

iii
Australian Government: Department of Home Affairs, Fact Sheet – Overview of Family Stream Migration
[website], < https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/29overview-
family#fsc> accessed. 5 October 2018.

iv
Hatice Hurmuz Basarin & Vecihi Basarin, The Turks in Australia: Celebrating Twenty-Five Years Down Under
(Victoria, Australia: Turquoise Publications, 1993), xi.

v
Work Permit, Australia Celebrates Turkish Migration [website], (2007)
http://workpermit.com/news/australia-celebrates-turkish-migration-20070810 accessed. 5 October 2018.

vi
Peggy Giakoumelos: SBS, Australia Marks 50 years of Turkish Migration [website] (2018), <
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australia-marks-50-years-of-turkish-migration> accessed 22 October 2018.

vii
More Turkish Migrants, Canberra Times, 12 February 1969, 11.

viii
Hatice Hurmuz Basarin & Vecihi Basarin, The Turks in Australia: Celebrating Twenty-Five Years Down Under
(Victoria, Australia: Turquoise Publications, 1993), 69.

ix
Turkey, The Age, 24 July 2005, 1.

x
Ibid.

xi
Turkish Numbers ‘Not Decided’, Canberra Times, 28 September 1967, 9.

xii
Ibid.

xiii
Ferda Şahin, ‘Ferda Şahin interviewed by Sky Şahin [sound recording] (2018).

xiv
Department of Immigration Canberra A.C.T, Statement on Turkish Migrant Families in Melbourne [news
release], 4 June 1971, Parliament of Australia,
<https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/media/pressrel/HPR04002553/upload_binary/HPR04002553.
pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22turkish%20migrants%201970s%22> accessed. 5 Oct. 2018.

xv
Ferda Şahin, ‘Ferda Şahin interviewed by Sky Şahin [sound recording] (2018).

xvi
Ibid.

xvii
Ibid.

xviii
Ibid.

xix
Ibid.

xx
Ibid.

xxi
Ibid.
PRIMARY SOURCES:

Abdurrahman & Ayşe Şahin, ‘Postcard’ [postcard to Ferda and Gönül Şahin], 31 Dec. 1993.

Ferda Şahin, ‘Ferda Şahin interviewed by Sky Şahin [sound recording] (2018).

Mücella Yanik, ‘Letter’ [letter to Ferda Şahin], 1992, p.2.

National Archives of Australia: Australian News and Information Bureau, Middle East States Turkey Signing
Australia/Turkish Migration Agreement, A1200: L65408, 1967 (Canberra).

National Archives of Australia: Australian News and Information Bureau, Middle East States Turkey Signing
Australia/Turkish Migration Agreement, A1200: L65405, 1967 (Canberra).

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA),
Immigration Migrants in Employment Factory Production Turks at Ericsson Pty Ltd, North Coburg, A12111:
1/1971/16/137, 1971 (Canberra).

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA),
Immigration – Migrants Arrivals In Australia – First Turkish Assisted Passage Migrants Arrive At Sydney,
A12111: 1/1968/4/25, 1968.

Neşe Çelik, ‘Letter’, [letter to Ferda Şahin], 13 Jan. 1992, p.2.

Sümeyya Bayazit, ‘Letter’ [letter to Ferda Şahin], 4 Nov. 1992, para. 1.

SECONDARY SOURCES:

Australian Government: Department of Home Affairs, Fact Sheet – Overview of Family Stream Migration
[website], < https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/29overview-
family#fsc> accessed. 5 October 2018.

Australian Government: Department of Immigration and Citizenship (2014), <

https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/02_2014/turkey.pdf> accessed 5 October 2018.

Basarin H & Basarin V, The Turks in Australia: Celebrating Twenty-Five Years Down Under (Victoria, Australia:
Turquoise Publications, 1993).

Department of Immigration Canberra A.C.T, Statement on Turkish Migrant Families in Melbourne [news
release], 4 June 1971, Parliament of Australia,
<https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/media/pressrel/HPR04002553/upload_binary/HPR04002553.
pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22turkish%20migrants%201970s%22> accessed. 5 Oct. 2018.

Giakoumelos P: SBS, Australia Marks 50 years of Turkish Migration [website] (2018), <
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australia-marks-50-years-of-turkish-migration> accessed 22 October 2018.

More Turkish Migrants, Canberra Times, 12 February 1969.

Turkish Numbers ‘Not Decided’, Canberra Times, 28 September 1967.

Turkey, The Age, 24 July 2005.

Work Permit, Australia Celebrates Turkish Migration [website], (2007) http://workpermit.com/news/australia-

celebrates-turkish-migration-20070810 accessed. 5 October 2018.