New book Growing Roots gives voice to Italians and Croatians in State’s timber industry from 1920 to 1970

A new book, launching this month, will reveal the untold stories of Italian and Croatian migrants who contributed to WA’s timber industry and the South West between 1920 and 1970. Dr Christina Gillgren is the author of Growing Roots: Italians and Croatians in the development of the Western Australian Timber Industry. She said while completing a PhD and Doctorate in Political Science more than three decades ago, she looked at the region’s timber industry and the contributions made to it by migrants. “I interviewed over 50 people,” Dr Gillgren said. “At first, there was great reluctance, but when they started talking, they really opened up. “Real stories came out. Some of them, not the best of stories — it was very racist times.” Dr Gillgren said despite all their experiences and hardships, the migrants set up and “laid a very important foundation” for Australia’s multicultural society. “This isn’t just a story for Italians and Croatians — it is a story of settlement,” she said. “Their stories are part of the tapestry of settlement in Western Australia.” Dr Gillgren interviewed and recorded the stories of those who worked in the industry between 1920 and 1970, making a promise to one day publish their accounts. “They said, ‘we want our stories told’ and I made the promise, and then you start working and don’t find the time,” she said. “But then we had COVID, so I thought, now it’s time to honour a promise and that’s how it started.” As she worked through the interviews from 30 years earlier, Dr Gillgren said she included a background of 50 years of archives from government departments in forestry and immigration, settlements, parliamentary debates and newspapers. “The book is not my story,” she said. “I let the people I interviewed tell the stories of their experience. What the research does is situates and backs the stories.” Born in Malta, Dr Gillgren moved to Australia in 1982 and lived in Bunbury for five years. It was there where she connected with many Italians. “I found out there were a lot of Italians (in Bunbury),” she said. “I expected this vibrant, multicultural community, but the Italians were almost invisible. “I couldn’t relate that to Europe where the Italians are very proud, so I became very curious about them and their experience. It certainly made me very curious about Australian history.” In her research and findings, Dr Gillgren found Italians and Croatians played major part in settlement and the timber history, but they have not been recognised for their contribution. “It’s important because we are a multicultural society and it really upsets me that when I spoke to these people, at first, they didn’t want to speak. Then during the interviews, things started coming out more and more,” she said. “Some of the stories I heard were about the fact they didn’t feel they could speak about their experiences — they had to show that they belonged.” Dr Gillgren said the Italian and Croatian families she interviewed wanted to show people in Australia “everything was hunky dory”. “I have spoken to other people who have interviewed migrants and reached histories of that period — it’s a very similar story, because there was the policy of first assimilation and then integration,” she said. “The assimilation was ‘forget who you are’, you’re going to be like us — British. “It’s denigrated their cultures, and I’m thinking — no, hang on, the culture is the first building blocks of who we are and our self-esteem, and then we grow from that.” Dr Gillgren said even though she was born overseas, she considers herself more Australian because of the many years she has spent here. But the “fact” is she knows her heritage, building blocks and where she started has never been denied. “It’s very important you can feel good and proud about who you are, and where you came from,” she said. “It really upsets me, it broke my heart to see how they felt about their heritage, a heritage which they should be so proud of.” While conducting interviews with people from former Yugoslavia and some from Macedonia, Dr Gillgren said they preferred to be called Croatians in the publications. The book launch will be held at the Manjimup Library on Thursday, July 25.