Krystyna Mills (nee Koszyc) remembers Bonegilla Migrant and Training Centre as a place of comfort — a home that was both nurturing and safe.
She was born at the centre in northern Victoria during 1953, four years after her parents arrived in Australia on a transport vessel from Europe.
Her Polish parents ended up in Germany after World War II and, with their homes decimated by conflict, were looking for a new place to settle.
"It was either the United States or Australia," Ms Mills said.
"The first boat was leaving for Australia so this is where they ended up."
Ms Mills spent 18 years at the migrant centre, a place that temporarily housed about 320,000 people between 1947 and 1971.
She said it was an idyllic place for a child to grow up.
"We would just run out of the barracks and there would be other kids there and we would go to the mess hall and eat with everyone," Ms Mills said.
"We would go to the weir and we would just hang out.
"It was just a few steps to go to the school."
Centre 'perfect' for children
Ms Mills said she could not imagine being brought up in a house.
"I always think of it just so fondly because I could not imagine anywhere else to live," she said.
"It was just perfect for children."
Ms Mills said she felt great freedom at the centre, as if there was nothing she could not do.
She said her parents loved it too and became actively involved in the community.
"Mum ended up getting a job at the hospital as a nurse," Ms Mills said.
"My dad, because he could speak English, which he learnt from the British POWs [prisoners of war], ended up getting a job in the admin here [the migrant centre].
"He actually ran Block 19."
Ms Mills' story is one of many highlighted in an exhibition for the 75th anniversary of the centre's opening.
New stories changing perspectives
Simon Reich recorded some of the stories as part of a special screening event to mark the occasion.
He said the recordings also included his own father's story.
"My dad actually came through the camp in 1958 and what's fantastic is he only shifted a few kilometres down the road to Wangaratta," Mr Reich said.
Mr Reich's work for the exhibition unearthed family stories that he and his siblings did not know about.
"It actually changed the relationship with my father," he said.
"I suddenly realised, 'Is this what he was going through as a child and then as a parent and then bringing me up in the world?'
"He has seen a lot. He has been through a lot. Certain stresses did put pressures on him.
"But just the fact that he has survived … I mean PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] wasn't even talked about back then."
'One in 20' Australians connected
Wodonga City Council (WCC) is hosting a number of events this week to mark the centre's 75th anniversary, including screening Mr Reich's Bonegilla Stories project.
It also includes the official opening of the digital Bonegilla ID card exhibition, which features a research station and a video wall of people's lives after the migrant centre.
WCC Acting Mayor Graeme Simpfendorfer said he found his own family connection to the centre through the exhibition's digitised records.
"[That's] exactly what this exhibition is all about, to be able to come in and have a look through the history," he said.
"To come down and type your name in, I was able to email it to the family straight away and now we've got that card to do a bit of investigating ourselves."
Cr Simpfendorfer said it was important that community members were able to explore the centre's history for themselves and uncover their own connections.
"One in 20 Australians can trace their history through here," he said.
"Hopefully this exhibition will draw more people to it and they can trace that family history back and show that next generation what's happened."
