Bonegilla focuses on the history of the Migrant Reception and Training Centre and connects it with clear guidance around the site. Block 19, The Arc, the Suitcase Trail and the Chapel each offer a different perspective: remembrance of a place and its people, life in the camp, and the historical uses of a building. The Bonegilla Migrant Experience is located at 132 Bonegilla Rd, Bonegilla; its grounds border Lake Hume. If you would like to explore the history of migration and the camp during your trip, Bonegilla is a fitting starting point.

Block 19 and remembrance

Block 19 is a public place of remembrance and a rare example of a post-war migrant centre. Together, these features point to two dimensions: remembrance at a specific place and the camp’s historical significance as a centre of the post-war era. Its designation as a rare example also draws attention to the history of the centre itself. Bonegilla can therefore be understood both as a place of remembrance and through the camp’s distinctive role in the post-war era.

The memorial sculpture The Arc commemorates individuals and families who arrived at the centre between 1947 and 1971. The dates anchor the remembrance in time and make arrival at the centre the sculpture’s specific point of reference. In this way, alongside remembrance of the place, the people commemorated by The Arc are also brought into focus.

Insights into camp life

The Suitcase Trail offers a personal and direct insight into life at Bonegilla Camp. It complements The Arc thematically: the sculpture commemorates individuals and families, while the trail focuses on life in the camp. For finding your way around Bonegilla, these offer two different perspectives on the centre’s history.

The Chapel, also known as Building 91, adds the history of a specific building to these perspectives. At the Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre, it initially served as a Regimental Aid Post during the military period, then as a medical clinic, and also as a chapel for religious, charitable and cultural celebrations. These functions connect military and medical uses with community events. While Block 19 is described as a public place of remembrance, the history of Building 91 describes the changing uses of a single building.

Location and practical information

The Bonegilla Migrant Experience borders Lake Hume. This gives the location a geographical point of reference in addition to the camp’s history. When planning your trip to Bonegilla, you can distinguish between Lake Hume as a feature of the location and the focus on remembrance and camp life.

The available information format is also relevant when finding your way around the site. Visitors without a smart device can ask at the Welcome Centre about borrowing site-specific tablets; a paper version is also available. The paper version therefore provides an option for finding your way around if you are travelling without a smart device.

Discover more destinations: Rosedale, Bridgewater On Loddon, Myrtleford, Kerrisdale, Stawell, Tonimbuk, Moondarra, Hepburn Springs

For the broader travel overview: Victoria.