0:00:03 > 0:00:07For 225 years, Welsh people have been making the long journey
0:00:07 > 0:00:12to start new lives in Australia.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14It's not hard to see why,
0:00:14 > 0:00:19especially when you swap the Welsh winter for the Australian summer.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22We know that Australia over the years has tempted
0:00:22 > 0:00:25so many Welsh people to leave home,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28to settle in a very different country and to prosper.
0:00:28 > 0:00:34Well, I'm on my first visit to Australia and I'm on the trail
0:00:34 > 0:00:40of those Welsh migrants past and present, who played a surprisingly
0:00:40 > 0:00:46significant role in shaping the story of this great nation.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53'It's a wonderfully unexpected journey that takes me through
0:00:53 > 0:00:57some of the most beautiful landscape that Australia has to offer...
0:00:59 > 0:01:02'..to meet Welshmen who came here in chains...
0:01:04 > 0:01:07'..and others who came here looking for gold.'
0:01:07 > 0:01:11- Wow, can we call that Welsh gold? - Of course we can.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15'We meet a Welsh street cleaner and poet,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18'some very Welsh entrepreneurs.'
0:01:18 > 0:01:21- Brecwast, please.- Brecwast, OK.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23'And an eminent politician...'
0:01:23 > 0:01:27- Prime Minister.- Hello, Huw. Lovely to meet you.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30'..as well as some of the most recent Welsh arrivals
0:01:30 > 0:01:35'who have come to try their luck down under.'
0:01:49 > 0:01:56BRASS BAND PLAYS "WALTZING MATILDA"
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Today is a fitting opportunity for all of us to reflect
0:02:00 > 0:02:04on what it means to be an Australian citizen.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09'It's a beautiful sunny Sydney morning and I've come to the suburb
0:02:09 > 0:02:12'of Manly Beach to witness a citizenship ceremony.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16'After six years in the country,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20'Welsh construction manager Ioan Morgan, his wife Naomi
0:02:20 > 0:02:24'and their children Rhys and Erin, have decided to become Australians.'
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Now, if you would repeat after me,
0:02:29 > 0:02:34I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people.
0:02:34 > 0:02:39- ALL:- I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Ioan is a fiercely proud Welshman
0:02:41 > 0:02:43but thanks to the opportunities on offer,
0:02:43 > 0:02:48he has no worries about taking this momentous step.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50'The work that I'm doing now is phenomenal.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54'In Australia if they see that you're serious about being here
0:02:54 > 0:02:57'and you're happy to work hard and be a part of society,
0:02:57 > 0:03:01'people will support and welcome you extremely well.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Ioan Tudor Morgan.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07Rhys Terry Morgan.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11And Naomi Anne Morgan.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Welsh families like the Morgans are the most recent chapter
0:03:14 > 0:03:18in the story of the Welsh in Australia -
0:03:18 > 0:03:21a story that goes back to 1770,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24when Captain Cook claimed the eastern part of this vast continent
0:03:24 > 0:03:28for Britain and named it New South Wales.
0:03:30 > 0:03:36The first Welsh settlers began arriving 18 years later in 1788
0:03:36 > 0:03:41in the port we now know as Sydney.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45But few of them had made that long journey of their own free will.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47They were criminals,
0:03:47 > 0:03:52transported here on the first fleets of convict ships from Britain.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Many of them had been sentenced to spend the rest of their lives
0:03:55 > 0:03:56in Australia.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03'I've come to Sydney Harbour to talk to Shirley Collis,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05'who's traced her own family history
0:04:05 > 0:04:09'back to one of those early Welsh convicts.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12'Shirley suggested we meet on Circular Quay,
0:04:12 > 0:04:17'a significant landmark in the story of those first settlers.'
0:04:17 > 0:04:21So where are we here, Shirley? How does this place fit into the story?
0:04:21 > 0:04:23Well, this is Sydney Cove
0:04:23 > 0:04:26and this, over here, is where the convicts would have landed.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29- That side?- And all of this would have been open space.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32The only sign of human occupation
0:04:32 > 0:04:35would have been the Aboriginal people fishing in little boats and whatnot,
0:04:35 > 0:04:39maybe a fire, smoke going up, every headland would have been
0:04:39 > 0:04:44heavily wooded. They swing round here into the bay and they drop anchor.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51Shirley's Welsh ancestor, Ann Smith,
0:04:51 > 0:04:56was only 20 when she arrived in the penal colony in 1804.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01At the time, the convicts weren't imprisoned
0:05:01 > 0:05:05but lived mostly in tents and huts on the hill above the harbour
0:05:05 > 0:05:09in the district now known as The Rocks.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15Many of the women had been sent to the colony
0:05:15 > 0:05:17as little more than breeding stock.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Without protection,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22the majority ended up turning to prostitution to survive.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30So it was probably no bad thing that only four months after she landed,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34Ann Smith walked into Sydney's first church, St Philips,
0:05:34 > 0:05:39on the arm of a fellow convict.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42You can see here both of them were technically illiterate.
0:05:42 > 0:05:49Ann Smith, her mark. Robert Bolton, his mark. November 3rd, 1804.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Where was Ann from? Have you found out where she came from in Wales?
0:05:52 > 0:05:54She came from Brecon.
0:05:54 > 0:06:00She was arrested for stealing household goods, mostly clothing,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03breaking and entering the house.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07She could have been sentenced to death but she got seven years instead
0:06:07 > 0:06:09and transportation to New South Wales.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Here's a tricky question.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Some people might think that fact, having convicts in your background,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18is something to be, I don't know, slightly embarrassed about or even,
0:06:18 > 0:06:20for some people, maybe ashamed about.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Does that exist, that feeling, or not?
0:06:22 > 0:06:26It did when I first started my family research in 1974
0:06:26 > 0:06:28but it doesn't any more.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30People are now proud, interested.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34They want to know what their background is, want to know where they came from.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Anyone looking at you today, Shirley, will realise
0:06:37 > 0:06:40you've got plenty of Welsh emblems, which is great to see.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Why is that important for you to hold on to that sense of identity?
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Australia is a very, very polyglot nation.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52Our people have come from all over the land but we need to know where we've come from.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54We need to know what our heritage is. The Welsh blend in.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57They don't carry on.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59They don't make a song and dance about being Welsh
0:06:59 > 0:07:04- but it's there and, what's the word, Hiraeth?- Hiraeth.
0:07:04 > 0:07:10You know, when I listen to Welsh music when I hear a choir in full,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12quite often I've got tears in my eye.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16Something happens within me that says I am Welsh.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Ann Smith and her husband Robert
0:07:19 > 0:07:21did pretty well out of transportation.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24They did their time, they had a family
0:07:24 > 0:07:27and ended up with land and property,
0:07:27 > 0:07:31but they were definitely among the lucky ones.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34My next destination is the island of Tasmania,
0:07:34 > 0:07:381,000 kilometres south of Sydney.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46I'm heading for Port Arthur to explore one of the darkest chapters
0:07:46 > 0:07:48of the transportation story
0:07:48 > 0:07:51and to find out about one particularly famous Welshman
0:07:51 > 0:07:53who survived the ordeal.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59Today Tasmania is known for its pristine landscapes,
0:07:59 > 0:08:01its dramatic coastline,
0:08:01 > 0:08:03its nature reserves,
0:08:03 > 0:08:07and its status as an ideal holiday destination.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09But back in the early 19th century,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Port Arthur was the maximum high security prison camp
0:08:13 > 0:08:16for the toughest convicts,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18and when they stepped off the ship on this jetty
0:08:18 > 0:08:22they were setting foot, not in Tasmania as we call it today,
0:08:22 > 0:08:26but in a dark place known then as Van Diemen's Land.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Remote and inaccessible and guarded by attack dogs,
0:08:36 > 0:08:40this was a labour camp from which the inmates were set to
0:08:40 > 0:08:44work in forests and quarries and mines.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48It was run by the military, and prisoners were constantly
0:08:48 > 0:08:51under threat of vicious corporal punishment.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Among the thousands sent here was a Welsh revolutionary
0:08:56 > 0:09:00by the name of Zephaniah Williams.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Williams was one of the leaders of the Chartist Movement,
0:09:04 > 0:09:09a radical 19th-century campaign demanding social equality.
0:09:09 > 0:09:10He was sentenced to death
0:09:10 > 0:09:14for his role in a large demonstration in Newport.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19He escaped the noose but instead was transported to Port Arthur.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26David Martin Jones is a Welsh historian based in Australia
0:09:26 > 0:09:29with a particular interest in Zephaniah Williams
0:09:29 > 0:09:31and his remarkable story.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37David explained how the Port Arthur authorities decided to take
0:09:37 > 0:09:41advantage of Williams' experience and posted him up country
0:09:41 > 0:09:44with the unenviable task of controlling a remote coal mine
0:09:44 > 0:09:47at a place called Saltwater River.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51So what happens to Williams while he's here?
0:09:51 > 0:09:55Basically, he's in charge of 30 convict miners.
0:09:55 > 0:10:02Convict mining is tough work. It's nasty, it's dirty,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06and, you know, it's a kind of a punishment in itself,
0:10:06 > 0:10:12so those who are doing this job are always threatening to run away.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14The problem for Williams was,
0:10:14 > 0:10:19as the overseer, he was supposed to stop them running away.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24What happens is four of the convicts leg it into the bush.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28He, as a responsible overseer, chases after them.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32He catches up with them and they make him an offer he can't refuse -
0:10:32 > 0:10:36either you come with us or we'll kill you.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39He's taken with them a few miles into the bush.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44They then stuff him in a tree that's burnt out and run off.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47- He's got no food or water. - They abandon him, basically?
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Abandon him, yeah.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55'Williams found himself in an impossible position.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58'When he finally made his way out of the wilderness and handed
0:10:58 > 0:11:02'himself over to the authorities, his account of events was ignored.'
0:11:06 > 0:11:08So what kind of punishment does he then face?
0:11:08 > 0:11:13We're talking about an intelligent man, well educated,
0:11:13 > 0:11:19subjected to being chained for two years doing hard labour,
0:11:19 > 0:11:23breaking rocks, locked to two murderers.
0:11:26 > 0:11:32And at night, he's taken to a special cell of six foot by four
0:11:32 > 0:11:37where he can hardly sleep and he's there for 16 weeks.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44And he still emerges from that and still rebuilds his life later on.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46He's a remarkably strong character.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51Strong, resilient, innovative...
0:11:51 > 0:11:55- Robust Welsh stock, I think. - I think we can say that, yes.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02What fascinates me about this story is that after Williams was
0:12:02 > 0:12:06eventually released and then pardoned, he went on to become
0:12:06 > 0:12:10a successful entrepreneur in the Tasmanian coal industry.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13He arranged for his wife and his children to emigrate here
0:12:13 > 0:12:17from South Wales and encouraged 40 Welsh miners to make the journey
0:12:17 > 0:12:20with offers of work and land.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27Williams had come to Tasmania as a notorious criminal
0:12:27 > 0:12:30but when he passed away at the age of 80,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33he was a well known and prosperous settler.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42The first Welshmen who came to Australia of their own free will
0:12:42 > 0:12:48were mostly miners and the city they sailed to was Adelaide.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51I travelled there to the capital of South Australia,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54on the trail of those early immigrants
0:12:54 > 0:12:59and was delighted to discover there are still Welsh miners in Adelaide
0:12:59 > 0:13:04and they're keeping the home flag flying.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07# Pat a Janet ac Elsie a Glen
0:13:07 > 0:13:11# Pat a Janet ac Elsie a Glen
0:13:11 > 0:13:13# Pat a Janet ac Elsie a Glen. #
0:13:13 > 0:13:15- Helo, bore da. - Bore da, sut ydych chi?
0:13:15 > 0:13:19- Huw Edwards. Neis i weld chi. - A chithe.- Yn Adelaide fan hyn.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22- 'Wi ishe brecwast, plis. - Brecwast, OK.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25'Charles Harris is a miner and quarryman from West Wales
0:13:25 > 0:13:28'and he and his wife Ann run a very distinctive coffee shop
0:13:28 > 0:13:31'in one of Adelaide's central suburbs.'
0:13:31 > 0:13:35A coffi. Flat white neu rhywbeth. Diolch yn fawr.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37- Iawn, dim problem.- Diolch.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41# Yn llewys fy nghrys Caf wy, chips a pys
0:13:41 > 0:13:46# Ag wrth dalu y bill Mi gaf wen gan
0:13:46 > 0:13:49# Pat a Janet ac Elsie a Glen. #
0:13:49 > 0:13:51It's lovely to see you.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54I can't believe there's such a Welsh enclave in Adelaide.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57How did you end up here, Ann?
0:13:57 > 0:13:59It sort of started off...
0:13:59 > 0:14:02we moved to Australia about four and a half years ago
0:14:02 > 0:14:05and we were on a business visa and were looking for a new business,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08and we happened to be in here one day drinking coffee
0:14:08 > 0:14:11and got talking to the owner and he said the cafe was for sale,
0:14:11 > 0:14:15and we just sort of said, "OK, we might be interested," didn't we?
0:14:15 > 0:14:18We bought the place but needed to do something different
0:14:18 > 0:14:19because it was a bit rundown
0:14:19 > 0:14:22and, being from Wales, we thought, "Let's do a Welsh cafe."
0:14:22 > 0:14:26At what point, Ann, did you realise you had a success on your hands?
0:14:26 > 0:14:28The first day we actually opened
0:14:28 > 0:14:30somebody came in and asked for Welsh cakes
0:14:30 > 0:14:33and I said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't got any Welsh cakes,
0:14:33 > 0:14:36"but we'll have some tomorrow," and it just came from there that
0:14:36 > 0:14:40they started asking for faggots and peas, and then somebody
0:14:40 > 0:14:43came in one day and said, "Oh, I bet you haven't got any laverbread?"
0:14:43 > 0:14:46- That is a challenge.- Yeah. "Not at the moment."
0:14:46 > 0:14:48But we do actually sell laverbread now.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51We actually get laverbread and cockles in from Burry Port.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54- From Burry Port?- Yes, yeah. - I'm very pleased to hear it.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57- That's a very good part of the world.- Yes, yes.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01Getting into the cafe business, it's been a challenge for us
0:15:01 > 0:15:04because I've never cooked, I never baked nothing in my life before
0:15:04 > 0:15:07and now I can turn breakfasts out in no time.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10You mean to say you're behind the counter cooking breakfasts?
0:15:10 > 0:15:15- For the first two years, yes, I was. - I'm full of admiration. I really am.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19'Ann and Charles are in a long tradition of Welsh mining families
0:15:19 > 0:15:21'who have shown their ability to thrive
0:15:21 > 0:15:24'in the unfamiliar Australian climate.'
0:15:29 > 0:15:34I'm now on the road out of Adelaide, heading for a town called Burra.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38It's a pretty hot day and I'm on the trail of some of the first
0:15:38 > 0:15:40Welsh miners in Australia,
0:15:40 > 0:15:45tempted here by the demand for their expertise in the copper industry
0:15:45 > 0:15:47during the late 1840s.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56My driver and companion, Jason Shute,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59is a Welshman living in Adelaide
0:15:59 > 0:16:02and is an expert on this early group of Welsh settlers.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08This stretch we're on now, where are we heading to now, cos this is...?
0:16:08 > 0:16:10We're still heading up the old Bullock Dray Road
0:16:10 > 0:16:15from Adelaide to Burra itself.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20The conditions of that journey for them, what would they have been?
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Well, today we should have temperatures
0:16:23 > 0:16:27of about 32 degrees centigrade up in Burra itself.
0:16:27 > 0:16:32It's a lovely day but it was a wet season when they arrived.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37- That might have felt a bit Welsh to them, I don't know.- Yeah.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41They really were going to the absolute limits of the Empire,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43if you like, at that time.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47- And that's where we're heading now? - Towards Burra itself, yes.
0:16:58 > 0:17:03Today Burra is a beautifully preserved little Victorian town -
0:17:03 > 0:17:08a testament to the wealth generated by Burra's so-called Monster Mine,
0:17:08 > 0:17:12but Jason was keen to show me that back in the late 1840s, when the
0:17:12 > 0:17:17first Welsh miners arrived, the accommodation was rather different.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21We parked near a dry river bed above the town.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27What is significant about the place you've brought me to here?
0:17:27 > 0:17:30Well, we're standing in one of the tributary creeks to the
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Burra Creek itself and it's these water courses which flow
0:17:34 > 0:17:37well in winter that make a community possible in this arid
0:17:37 > 0:17:40- part of the world.- They're drawn to the water, basically?
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Yes, that's got to support the community.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46As far as living is concerned, of course,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50there's not much in the way of accommodation, if anything at all.
0:17:50 > 0:17:51So what does a miner do?
0:17:51 > 0:17:55He takes his pick and shovel and he digs himself
0:17:55 > 0:17:57and his family a home
0:17:57 > 0:18:01and these dugouts which extend down these tributaries,
0:18:01 > 0:18:05along the Burra Creek for well over a mile are soon
0:18:05 > 0:18:08accommodating as many as 1,800 people.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11- They're living in these holes? - In these holes.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Men, women and children and indeed their animals -
0:18:14 > 0:18:15pigs, chickens, the lot.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18The first thing that strikes you, Jason,
0:18:18 > 0:18:22is the potential for enormous health problems.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Well, that is a major drawback, of course,
0:18:25 > 0:18:30and typhoid is a problem and certainly infant mortality is
0:18:30 > 0:18:32very high while these dugouts are being used.
0:18:32 > 0:18:38In this state, it does look incredibly basic and barren
0:18:38 > 0:18:42and rather grim really, but I'm assuming it looked rather different
0:18:42 > 0:18:43when people actually lived in them?
0:18:43 > 0:18:46Yes, they did the best they could, certainly.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48Most of them were whitewashed inside,
0:18:48 > 0:18:52some of them even wallpapered and carpets on the floor as well.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57- One was certainly used as a hotel. - One of these was used as a hotel?
0:18:57 > 0:19:01One of these, religious services were held in them, and the upside,
0:19:01 > 0:19:05of course, was coolness because you know now, coming in from the very
0:19:05 > 0:19:10- hot temperature out there, that this is very pleasant.- Any snakes around?
0:19:10 > 0:19:13- We hope not. Maybe we should have looked first.- I hope not!
0:19:13 > 0:19:15It's not top of my list of favourite things.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18I notice you are leading out! HUW LAUGHS
0:19:19 > 0:19:23From the miners' cave dwellings, Jason took me up to the site
0:19:23 > 0:19:26of the giant, Welsh-built copper works
0:19:26 > 0:19:29that once employed over 1,000 men and boys.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33We've only got footings to see now, unfortunately,
0:19:33 > 0:19:38but you get the perspective down there, 200 feet of workspace,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41rather grandly built classical facade.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43Too elegantly built, some said,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46compared with the works in the Swansea valley at the time -
0:19:46 > 0:19:49a chapel of industry.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52I know today isn't that hot for you because you're used to it.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56It's very hot for me and I'm just thinking, working near these
0:19:56 > 0:20:00furnaces in what could be extreme heat outside as well,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02I mean, the conditions must have been very difficult.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06Yes, here we are in about maybe 32 today and could you imagine it
0:20:06 > 0:20:10at 40 or 42 degrees in the temperature in the air
0:20:10 > 0:20:13and you're stood working before
0:20:13 > 0:20:16an absolutely broiling hot furnace there?
0:20:19 > 0:20:22And, of course, when some new men came
0:20:22 > 0:20:26they were just gawping at the experienced men
0:20:26 > 0:20:30standing before these furnaces, as Superintendant Thomas Williams said,
0:20:30 > 0:20:33"At the men melting before the furnaces."
0:20:39 > 0:20:45The heyday of copper at Burra was over only 20 years after it began,
0:20:45 > 0:20:49but it was the first of many occasions when the Welsh played
0:20:49 > 0:20:52a vital role in Australian mining,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55an industry that still makes a significant contribution
0:20:55 > 0:20:57to the Australian economy.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16From the state of South Australia,
0:21:16 > 0:21:20I'm heading to neighbouring Victoria and the grand city of Melbourne.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Just a couple of years after the boom in Burra,
0:21:25 > 0:21:29Melbourne docks began welcoming a tidal wave of miners
0:21:29 > 0:21:32and fortune seekers from all over the globe,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35but these men weren't here for the copper.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40The majority of them, including men from all over Wales,
0:21:40 > 0:21:42came off the ships and hit the road.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46The story of copper is significant,
0:21:46 > 0:21:51but, believe me, it is nothing compared to what happens next.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Because the thing that transforms Australia,
0:21:54 > 0:21:56the thing that turns everything upside down,
0:21:56 > 0:22:00the thing that brings hundreds of thousands of people rushing here,
0:22:00 > 0:22:02is the discovery of gold.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06So I'm making my way North West from Melbourne,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09deep into the state of Victoria.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13I'm in my very comfortable air-conditioned car
0:22:13 > 0:22:16and I'm thinking of thousands of Welsh migrants,
0:22:16 > 0:22:20prospectors, making their way on foot,
0:22:20 > 0:22:24in the heat and dust, through these very fields,
0:22:24 > 0:22:28many of them making their way towards a town called Ballarat.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47Ballarat's gold rush, rather vividly brought to life
0:22:47 > 0:22:49here at the Sovereign Hill Museum,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53is a pretty astonishing moment in history.
0:22:53 > 0:22:5518 months after gold was discovered here,
0:22:55 > 0:23:00the population grew from just a handful of people to 20,000
0:23:00 > 0:23:05and very quickly the creeks that flowed out of the Ballarat hills
0:23:05 > 0:23:07were lined with rows of panhandlers.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13So I decided to try my luck and give it a go.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16- The trick to gold is its weight. - Right.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19- It's three-and-a-half times heavier than lead.- Right.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24So, mixed in with a lot of water, we get it really filled with water
0:23:24 > 0:23:26and give it a swish like that.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28All our gold will sink to the bottom.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30To the bottom of the pan, OK.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33So, we'll do that for a little while, just to get the water
0:23:33 > 0:23:37- swishing through to make sure all that gold sits in the bottom.- Yeah.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Now, when we get down to this amount here.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42It's not what I'd call submersion
0:23:42 > 0:23:45so if we're moving on an angle we move slowly forward
0:23:45 > 0:23:48- and bring it back quickly in the water like that.- OK, OK.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52As you can see, all the larger rocks are coming out
0:23:52 > 0:23:55and we're being left with the finest sand.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Yeah, got you.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00So, these guys coming out here during the height of the rush,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03some of them struck lucky. Lots of them, of course,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06came here and I would imagine, they didn't really make it at all.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08No, they said that one in ten made it rich,
0:24:08 > 0:24:13and the other eight out of ten could make a living and survive,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16find enough gold to keep going and one out of those ten also,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19he'd be destitute, and then find nothing.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21So it wasn't bad odds to make a living but not everyone
0:24:21 > 0:24:25made it rich but a lot of people were able to support themselves.
0:24:25 > 0:24:26Yeah, yeah.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28- We have got that down to a small amount now.- Yeah.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32When we get to this point, I tend to use a circular motion.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37If I bring the water around, just so it starts to remove the sand,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40you can see there...
0:24:42 > 0:24:44- Yes! Gosh, yes.- There we go.
0:24:44 > 0:24:45Wow!
0:24:45 > 0:24:48- Can we call that Welsh gold? - Of course we can!
0:24:49 > 0:24:51Unmistakable.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54- Not a bad little haul for one pan. - Not a lot but more than I've got.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59100 or 200 pans of that a day, and you'd be going all right.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04By the end of the 1850s
0:25:04 > 0:25:09there were around 2,000 Welsh men and women living in Ballarat.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12They were part of an extraordinary melting pot
0:25:12 > 0:25:14of Chinese people,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16there were Americans too,
0:25:16 > 0:25:21and Europeans, including plenty of English, Scots and Irish.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28Very quickly the initially chaotic fields of tents
0:25:28 > 0:25:30gave way to a busy industrial town,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33awash with money... and ways of spending it.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37But, for the Welsh, this was also a society
0:25:37 > 0:25:41that allowed them religious freedom of expression
0:25:41 > 0:25:44and where many continued to speak in the Welsh language.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50In the heart of the real Ballarat is a venerable building
0:25:50 > 0:25:52known as the Mechanics Institute -
0:25:52 > 0:25:56a centre for the education and entertainment of working people
0:25:56 > 0:25:59and a place that tells us something about the scale
0:25:59 > 0:26:02of Welsh cultural activity in the town.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06Jan Croggon is a local historian who was keen to show us around.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13- Right.- Well! It's impressive.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16I've brought you here to show you one of the real links
0:26:16 > 0:26:18to the Welsh in Ballarat and their presence here.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22This is the Great Hall, as it was known, of the Mechanics Institute
0:26:22 > 0:26:25- in Ballarat.- It's impressive. - It's beautiful isn't it,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27it's been restored to its original glory.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31It's incredible that they brought all of that tradition with them.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33And, in this Grand Hall, I have to say,
0:26:33 > 0:26:37far grander than the little chapel vestries and halls
0:26:37 > 0:26:40- you'd have had in Wales at that time.- Almost certainly.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42I've not been to those parts of Wales,
0:26:42 > 0:26:47but Ballarat really did have tabs on itself, I suppose,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49and whatever it built, because it was rich,
0:26:49 > 0:26:51there was gold around, there was a lot of money
0:26:51 > 0:26:53and they were building great big buildings
0:26:53 > 0:26:56and they wanted to show how well they'd done and they wanted to
0:26:56 > 0:27:00not only reproduce but improve and make better
0:27:00 > 0:27:03what they'd brought with them. And we know for an absolute fact
0:27:03 > 0:27:06that there was at least one Eisteddfod held in this very room
0:27:06 > 0:27:09- in 1863, it was a two-day affair. - 1863.- 1863.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12If it was a two-day affair that's a very serious Eisteddfod,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15- I have to say.- Absolutely. - Dead serious, yes.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18- In this very hall. - In this very room, so these walls
0:27:18 > 0:27:20echoed to the sounds of Welsh recitals
0:27:20 > 0:27:23and Welsh choirs and the whole thing.
0:27:23 > 0:27:31# Myfanwy boed yr holl o'th fywyd
0:27:33 > 0:27:39# Dan heulwen ddisglair canol dydd. #
0:27:43 > 0:27:46One of the Welshmen who attended and performed
0:27:46 > 0:27:50at the Ballarat Eisteddfod on a number of occasions
0:27:50 > 0:27:54was a farmer from West Wales, by the name of Joseph Jenkins.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00Jenkins was an extraordinary character
0:28:00 > 0:28:04who worked and travelled extensively in rural Victoria.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09He arrived here at the age of 50, having left his home
0:28:09 > 0:28:12and his troubled marriage in the middle of the night.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16He went on to spend the next 25 years in Australia
0:28:16 > 0:28:18working as a manual labourer,
0:28:18 > 0:28:22during which time he wrote a detailed and fascinating diary.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31I've driven to the town of Maldon about 50 miles north-east
0:28:31 > 0:28:36of Ballarat, where in 1885, at the age of 67,
0:28:36 > 0:28:40Jenkins finally managed to secure long-term employment
0:28:40 > 0:28:43maintaining the town's network of drains.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49It was a job that gave him a wonderfully down-to-earth
0:28:49 > 0:28:52perspective on Australia and its inhabitants.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58"This is a glorious country, but badly managed.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01"Gold, gold, gold is on every tongue,
0:29:01 > 0:29:05"while the soil is shamefully neglected. Each man..."
0:29:05 > 0:29:08"I met an Aborigine. He seemed half-starved.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11"I took him into my cottage and invited him to share a meal with me,
0:29:11 > 0:29:14"and I shared my blankets with him.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18"It is Sunday evening, the church and chapel bells are ringing
0:29:18 > 0:29:21"and the Salvation Army band is playing.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25"This small town is full of religious buildings,
0:29:25 > 0:29:28"but the stay-at-homes outnumber all the other denominations.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31"Many spend their Sundays with their guns in the bush."
0:29:33 > 0:29:38Jenkins' diary, a book that's familiar to many Australian schoolchildren,
0:29:38 > 0:29:43contains entries on everything - politics, agriculture, local crime,
0:29:43 > 0:29:48the Australian weather and plenty of comments about the Welsh.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Well, Joseph does tend to change his tune a little bit
0:29:51 > 0:29:54about his fellow Welsh in Australia. Listen to this...
0:29:54 > 0:29:58"All nationalists in this colony stick together selfishly.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00"The Welsh are quite to the contrary.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03"They do not heed a man's colour or nationality
0:30:03 > 0:30:05"as long as he acts straightforwardly.
0:30:05 > 0:30:10"I do believe that they prove the best colonists of any nation."
0:30:10 > 0:30:12And then, listen to this.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15"The Welsh people in Australia show great indifference
0:30:15 > 0:30:18"to honouring their national day, St David's Day,
0:30:18 > 0:30:20"and to keeping their language.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23"The Irish, on the other hand, join together to honour St Patrick
0:30:23 > 0:30:27"and form their separate societies."
0:30:27 > 0:30:30Having it both ways, I think.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33BELL RINGS
0:30:33 > 0:30:35WHISTLE BLOWS
0:30:35 > 0:30:40Jenkins lived in the State of Victoria for 25 years
0:30:40 > 0:30:45before deciding to head back to Wales at the age 76.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48By the time he boarded that train home,
0:30:48 > 0:30:50Australia was changing rapidly.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57As the 19th century drew to a close,
0:30:57 > 0:31:01most immigrants were proudly turning themselves into Australians.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05Many chose to leave their old national identities behind them.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14But back in the centre of Melbourne,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17there is one Welsh institution
0:31:17 > 0:31:19from the gold-rush era
0:31:19 > 0:31:21that is still thriving.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24# Calon lan yn llawn daioni
0:31:24 > 0:31:29# Tecach yw na'r lili dlos
0:31:29 > 0:31:36# Dim ond calon lan all ganu
0:31:36 > 0:31:45# Canu'r dydd a chanu'r nos. #
0:31:49 > 0:31:52Croeso cynnes i gwasanaeth Cymraeg cyntaf y flwyddyn...
0:31:52 > 0:31:55'The present minister of the Welsh Church in Melbourne
0:31:55 > 0:31:57'is the Reverend Sion Gough Hughes,
0:31:57 > 0:32:00'who's very proud of the chapel's Noncomformist tradition.'
0:32:00 > 0:32:03'It started out at the beginning of the 20th century
0:32:03 > 0:32:04'as a completely monoglot Welsh church.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06'It was a Welsh language church, no English at all.'
0:32:06 > 0:32:11Slowly but surely it started to have English services, as the Welsh...
0:32:11 > 0:32:14the pure Welsh community died.
0:32:14 > 0:32:15'We see ourselves as a church
0:32:15 > 0:32:18'that's got Welsh connections and Welsh roots
0:32:18 > 0:32:20'and Welsh people are welcome here,
0:32:20 > 0:32:23'but it's now for anybody.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25'It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from.'
0:32:30 > 0:32:35Penmachno? Wel, mae Penmachno wedi newid lot mewn hanner canrif.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39'After the service, there's always a traditional chapel te bach,
0:32:39 > 0:32:44'a little tea, that's anything other than little, to be honest.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48'And the woman responsible for this impressive spread
0:32:48 > 0:32:50'is Christine Boomsma.'
0:32:50 > 0:32:52The chapel's in fantastic condition,
0:32:52 > 0:32:53I'm just really figuring
0:32:53 > 0:32:56that this is such an important part of the Welsh jigsaw, if you like.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00It does, because people walk by in the street,
0:33:00 > 0:33:01and, of course, they come in,
0:33:01 > 0:33:03they see the Welsh flag flying
0:33:03 > 0:33:06and they'll stay for the service
0:33:06 > 0:33:08and we always try to give them a welcome.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10Since when have you been in Australia?
0:33:10 > 0:33:13I was 10 when I arrived, so I've been here 49 years,
0:33:13 > 0:33:15and that's giving my age away!
0:33:15 > 0:33:18So you've lived in Australia all of this time
0:33:18 > 0:33:20and I'm just wondering,
0:33:20 > 0:33:23do you think of yourself as Welsh in any way any more
0:33:23 > 0:33:25or are you just Australian? What are you?
0:33:25 > 0:33:29Well, after much criticism, I'm still a British subject.
0:33:29 > 0:33:34I've never become an Australian citizen because I feel I'm Welsh.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36I like the fact I'm Welsh, I mean,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39I speak Welsh, I live with a lot of Welsh people,
0:33:39 > 0:33:43so I'm used to it and I'm quite happy being a British subject,
0:33:43 > 0:33:46living here... with an Australian accent.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49- A very nice Australian accent! - Well...thank you.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04So, what does that visit tell me about Welshness in Australia?
0:34:04 > 0:34:07It's a thriving Welsh chapel, let's face it,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10that's something you don't see very often these days.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13And it's thriving because it's retained a core of Welshness
0:34:13 > 0:34:16but it's become, really, an Australian church.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19It's opened the doors to people of all kinds of different backgrounds.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22So I'm getting the sense of a modern Welsh identity
0:34:22 > 0:34:25which sits very comfortably, very happily
0:34:25 > 0:34:29in this diverse society that is today's Australia.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45Of all the 19th-century Welsh immigrants,
0:34:45 > 0:34:48undoubtedly the one who left the biggest mark
0:34:48 > 0:34:51on the Australian urban landscape
0:34:51 > 0:34:53was a shopkeeper called David Jones.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55Born and bred in Carmarthenshire,
0:34:55 > 0:34:57Jones established a trading empire,
0:34:57 > 0:35:01importing and selling goods from Britain and Europe.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05And today the David Jones chain of department stores
0:35:05 > 0:35:09is still one of the best-known names on the High Street.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18In 1901, Australia came of age
0:35:18 > 0:35:22when the country held its first national parliamentary election.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28Although the city of Canberra was eventually chosen
0:35:28 > 0:35:30as the Australian seat of government,
0:35:30 > 0:35:32for the first 26 years
0:35:32 > 0:35:35the Victorian State Parliament here in Melbourne
0:35:35 > 0:35:37was the home of national politics.
0:35:39 > 0:35:40'I've come here to meet
0:35:40 > 0:35:43'the former parliamentary official Dr Ray Wright.'
0:35:43 > 0:35:44Hello, Ray, how are you?
0:35:44 > 0:35:46- Hello, Huw. Welcome to Parliament House.- Huw Edwards.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49- Thanks for having me.- It's a great pleasure.- It's a great building.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52It's wonderful, isn't it? Come and we'll have a look.
0:35:52 > 0:35:57'I'm here to quiz Ray about one particular Australian politician,
0:35:57 > 0:35:59'a Welshman brought up in Llandudno
0:35:59 > 0:36:01'who came to Australia in his early 20s
0:36:01 > 0:36:05'and made his way up from working as a rural labourer
0:36:05 > 0:36:08'to serving in this building as Prime Minister
0:36:08 > 0:36:11'from 1916 to 1923.'
0:36:13 > 0:36:14'His name was Billy Hughes
0:36:14 > 0:36:18'and it's fair to say he has a reputation as a bit of a maverick.'
0:36:20 > 0:36:22So, if I'm right, now, you tell me,
0:36:22 > 0:36:26this is where Billy Hughes would have been operating
0:36:26 > 0:36:27and dominating this chamber?
0:36:27 > 0:36:31That's right, this is Billy Hughes' theatre, this is his arena.
0:36:31 > 0:36:32This is his stage.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34So, let's just think, I'm on the opposition side,
0:36:34 > 0:36:38what kind of a man am I facing? What kind of politician is he?
0:36:38 > 0:36:41You're facing a small man with a large presence,
0:36:41 > 0:36:44a man who is confrontationist and aggressive,
0:36:44 > 0:36:46won't let you get away with a thing.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49- He'll make jokes at your expense.- Likeable?
0:36:49 > 0:36:51Not very likeable from you, but if you're in the visitor's gallery
0:36:51 > 0:36:54- they would love Billy Hughes. - Entertaining, then?
0:36:54 > 0:36:58- Very entertaining indeed. - What about his staff over the years?
0:36:58 > 0:37:02He's very well known for his poor treatment of his staff.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05He was rude and he was a bully
0:37:05 > 0:37:06and he was overbearing.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09He was a member of parliament for 51 years.
0:37:09 > 0:37:14He had more than 100 staff, personal secretaries, resign and leave.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17- In fact...- It's got to be a record! - I think it probably is.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21One of them said he'd rather go to bed a with a sabre-toothed tiger
0:37:21 > 0:37:23than keep on working with Billy Hughes.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28Hughes was an outspoken and inspirational leader
0:37:28 > 0:37:30during the First World War
0:37:30 > 0:37:31who earned the adoration
0:37:31 > 0:37:34of the Australian troops fighting in Europe.
0:37:37 > 0:37:38His red-blooded patriotism
0:37:38 > 0:37:41also earned him a whole new set of friends
0:37:41 > 0:37:45when he arrived in London to meet the British War Cabinet in 1916.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49Morale was very low in England at that stage
0:37:49 > 0:37:51and Billy Hughes turned up
0:37:51 > 0:37:54all full of fire and vim and vigour and electricity,
0:37:54 > 0:37:57and Lloyd George sent him off on a speaking tour around England
0:37:57 > 0:37:59called the Wake Up England tour.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02And the adjective that's always used to describe this tour
0:38:02 > 0:38:04is that his speeches were "electrifying".
0:38:11 > 0:38:15He had an amazing impact, just because he was indefatigable,
0:38:15 > 0:38:19he wouldn't give in, he said we had to beat Germany.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21His impact was extraordinary.
0:38:21 > 0:38:22And people began to suggest
0:38:22 > 0:38:25that he might be the next Prime Minister after Asquith.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28'Before I left, Ray was keen to show me
0:38:28 > 0:38:31'a hidden corner of the Parliament building -
0:38:31 > 0:38:35'a reminder of Billy Hughes' eccentric style of leadership.'
0:38:35 > 0:38:36Nice steep staircase.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40- To your left. Down the corridor. - Bit darker here.
0:38:40 > 0:38:44- Yeah.- A bit of a sense of the unknown.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47Come and have a look through this window here.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51- We'll see this old rough building here.- This thing?
0:38:51 > 0:38:54- It looks a bit scruffy. - It's pretty scruffy, yeah.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57Billy Hughes decided he wanted his own private quarters
0:38:57 > 0:38:59for the parliament when he was here.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02Without asking anybody's permission or seeking anyone's advice,
0:39:02 > 0:39:05he demanded that a building be put up for him here
0:39:05 > 0:39:08so that he could hide away from all those people
0:39:08 > 0:39:10who were pestering him in the other office.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Victorian members said it was the act of a dictator.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15But it's still there.
0:39:15 > 0:39:1898 years later, it's still there.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20- And not so secret.- Not secret, and still being used.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31From the end of the First World War,
0:39:31 > 0:39:33Australia was preoccupied
0:39:33 > 0:39:37with securing both its prosperity and its national identity
0:39:37 > 0:39:40by increasing the population.
0:39:45 > 0:39:50Successive Australian governments encouraged largely white immigration
0:39:50 > 0:39:55and they promoted a national image of modern homes, plentiful jobs,
0:39:55 > 0:39:59and a kind of life that for many Welsh people
0:39:59 > 0:40:01must have looked like paradise.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07As an added incentive, well into the 1970s,
0:40:07 > 0:40:10migrants were offered a heavily-subsidised ticket
0:40:10 > 0:40:14for the voyage and they became known as Ten-Pound Poms.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22Among the many Welsh Ten-Pound Poms from Wales
0:40:22 > 0:40:24were the Lloyd family from Aberdare,
0:40:24 > 0:40:27who've kindly invited me for a traditional barbie
0:40:27 > 0:40:30at their home in the Melbourne suburb of Hallam.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41- This is gas, right?- Yes.- The one I've got at home is just charcoal.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44- Just charcoal in a kind of... - That's fine.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47- Controlling the heat is quite difficult.- No, it isn't!
0:40:47 > 0:40:48Well, it is for me!
0:40:48 > 0:40:51THEY LAUGH
0:40:51 > 0:40:57# Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
0:40:57 > 0:41:00# Those days of soda... #
0:41:00 > 0:41:03Normally, about February, it's stinking hot.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06Yeah, do you know what? I don't want to offend the residents of Aberdare,
0:41:06 > 0:41:09but this for me is the classic barbie-in-Aberdare weather.
0:41:09 > 0:41:10- Back in the Valleys.- Yeah, it is.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12Dear me.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20Well done.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23# Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
0:41:23 > 0:41:28# Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
0:41:28 > 0:41:33# Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer... #
0:41:33 > 0:41:37Well, June, I know I shouldn't really be asking you questions
0:41:37 > 0:41:39while you're eating.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42I'm trying to work out how many years it is
0:41:42 > 0:41:45since you first came to Australia.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49What do you reckon, how long is it? 1960...what what it?
0:41:49 > 0:41:521968, August 1st.
0:41:52 > 0:41:56- 45 years?- Yeah, in August.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59How long was it between the decision and your move?
0:41:59 > 0:42:02- A month.- A month?
0:42:02 > 0:42:06How on earth do you get your family ready to emigrate in a month?
0:42:06 > 0:42:09I don't know, but we did it. THEY LAUGH
0:42:09 > 0:42:11She's quick, she's quick!
0:42:11 > 0:42:12You're obviously quick.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16What did your family at home make of the decision?
0:42:16 > 0:42:21My mum was very upset and my grandmother was even more upset.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24She said, "I'll never see you again."
0:42:24 > 0:42:27Well, it was done and that was it, you couldn't turn back.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30You were starting a new life, really, weren't you?
0:42:30 > 0:42:31Definitely.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35- Did you see your grandmother again? - No. Nor my mum.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38My mum died 12 months after I got here.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40- That's a tough price to pay, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44And my grandmother died a couple of months later.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46So it was all done, you know,
0:42:46 > 0:42:48and we couldn't go back
0:42:48 > 0:42:52because you had to be two years here before you could go back,
0:42:52 > 0:42:56because you'd have to pay the government full price.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59She settled down very quickly.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01I just wanted to go to school.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03How old were you at the time?
0:43:03 > 0:43:07Six, nine days after we arrived in Melbourne.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09It was very dark and late
0:43:09 > 0:43:11and I remember going to a house, our first house.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15And I love it now, even now when we're in the country or somewhere,
0:43:15 > 0:43:18you hear the magpies - cuckoo-luckoo - they do that noise.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20And that was my first sound in the morning,
0:43:20 > 0:43:23but I remember hating it, thinking, "Oh, these beds are so lumpy!"
0:43:23 > 0:43:26It was like a farm and Mum kept saying,
0:43:26 > 0:43:29"We're in cowboy country! We're in cowboy country!"
0:43:29 > 0:43:32Did you really think it was cowboy country?
0:43:32 > 0:43:34"The cowboys are going to come!" And I'm thinking, "No, OK."
0:43:34 > 0:43:37But to lots of Welsh people, Aberdare's cowboy country as well,
0:43:37 > 0:43:40so you were stretching it a bit, to be fair.
0:43:40 > 0:43:41It was really foul weather.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45The big question I want to ask is,
0:43:45 > 0:43:47once you'd settled, June,
0:43:47 > 0:43:51what was it about Wales that you missed the most?
0:43:51 > 0:43:52My mum and dad.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55And especially my grandmother,
0:43:55 > 0:43:57because my grandmother reared us.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59And for you, Michaela,
0:43:59 > 0:44:03- do you have any memories of Wales at all as a little girl?- None.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06- None whatsoever.- How old were you when you came?- Three.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09And when did you first go back to Wales on a visit?
0:44:09 > 0:44:12I was 21 when I first went back.
0:44:12 > 0:44:17Did you then have any questions about the decision to come out here,
0:44:17 > 0:44:20your father's decision, really, to come out here?
0:44:20 > 0:44:21Yeah, most definitely.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24When I came home I said to Dad, you know, "How could you do it?
0:44:24 > 0:44:26"How could you just pack up
0:44:26 > 0:44:29"and leave all your family and come here?"
0:44:29 > 0:44:32And he said, you know, "I wanted to give you a better life."
0:44:32 > 0:44:35Opportunity was there so they took it.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43It's not hard to see why Ten-Pound Poms like the Lloyd family
0:44:43 > 0:44:45fell in love with Australia,
0:44:45 > 0:44:49but not all the migrants who came here in the 1950s and 1960s
0:44:49 > 0:44:53were so enthusiastic about moving to the other side of the world.
0:44:55 > 0:44:59'David Crisp is a retired sheep-shearer
0:44:59 > 0:45:02'from Northam in Western Australia.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04'When he was a baby, David's teenage mother
0:45:04 > 0:45:08'reluctantly placed him in an orphanage in Swansea.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10'And then at the age of seven
0:45:10 > 0:45:13'he became one of the so-called "lost children",
0:45:13 > 0:45:16'when he was put on a ship and sent off to Clontarf Boys' Home
0:45:16 > 0:45:20'near the Australian city of Perth.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23'It was run by the Roman Catholic Christian Brothers.'
0:45:24 > 0:45:27- How strict was the discipline? - Very strict.
0:45:28 > 0:45:29Very strict.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32What kind of punishments would they inflict on people?
0:45:32 > 0:45:39Well, I still remember as a kid, it was Saint Patrick's Day,
0:45:39 > 0:45:42we went to Castledare for a picnic there.
0:45:43 > 0:45:44And this Christian Brother said,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47"Whatever you do, don't go up the weir."
0:45:47 > 0:45:52Boys will be boys, and about five of them went up there,
0:45:52 > 0:45:57and Brother Doyle the next day got all the boys lined up and said,
0:45:57 > 0:45:59"Who was up the weir?"
0:46:00 > 0:46:06He went, "Right, I want youse boys up the stage."
0:46:06 > 0:46:09And I've never seen a man hit a kid in all my life.
0:46:09 > 0:46:16He went three or four canes, breaking them, just belted them.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19And I remember, I turned around, I just broke down.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22He said, "Crisp, if you don't turn around and watch this,
0:46:22 > 0:46:23"you'll be up here."
0:46:24 > 0:46:25And I still remember that.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28I will never forget that so long as I live.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32In recent years, there have been lots of really bad revelations
0:46:32 > 0:46:36about the kind of conduct that went on in some of these places,
0:46:36 > 0:46:39especially in attitude to young kids.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43- Was that the case in Clontarf as well?- Yes, it was definitely... Yes.
0:46:43 > 0:46:48The sex abuse. I didn't realise how bad it was.
0:46:48 > 0:46:52I know I got a sex abuse, you know, by three Brothers.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56I didn't realise how bad it was.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58Cos the boys never talked about it.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03If we talked about it, there's six of the best for a start.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08You know, you just never talked about it.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10But it was a whole complete change of life...
0:47:13 > 0:47:16..you know, from the orphanage at Swansea
0:47:16 > 0:47:19and to come to this place, and stinking hot.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21And, really, to have been tricked into it, in a way.
0:47:21 > 0:47:26- Oh, we were stolen kids.- If they were saying, "You're going on a trip..."
0:47:26 > 0:47:29Yeah, they stole us. I reckon they stole us.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34The Christian Brothers at Clontarf Boys' Home always insisted
0:47:34 > 0:47:39that the children's parents were dead, but David was never convinced.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41After he left the Boys' Home,
0:47:41 > 0:47:45he ended up working on farms right across Western Australia.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48It wasn't until he was in his mid-40s that he discovered
0:47:48 > 0:47:50the truth about his family.
0:47:53 > 0:47:58Tell me about the moment when you found out you had a mother in Wales.
0:47:58 > 0:47:59That was Mrs Norman.
0:47:59 > 0:48:05She sat us down and said, "There's a letter,"
0:48:05 > 0:48:10and she said, "You've got a mum," you know.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13- And... - What was your response to that?
0:48:13 > 0:48:17I was shocked. Shocked, you know?
0:48:17 > 0:48:20I walked back in to the shearers, and I said to the shearers,
0:48:20 > 0:48:23"Now you can't call me a bastard - I've got parents!"
0:48:25 > 0:48:27The boys all clapped.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30- Yeah.- When did you first make contact with your family?
0:48:30 > 0:48:31Mum rang us, Christmas Day.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34I remember her saying...
0:48:34 > 0:48:37IN WELSH ACCENT: "Hello, Dave, how are you, Dave?"
0:48:37 > 0:48:38I said, "That's Welsh!"
0:48:38 > 0:48:41She said, "This is Mum."
0:48:41 > 0:48:44- Wow.- Mum got all excited, but I couldn't understand her.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47She was Welsh Welsh, you know?
0:48:47 > 0:48:49- Talking very quickly?- Yeah.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51I said, "Mum, can you slow down?!"
0:48:55 > 0:48:57David's mother came out to visit him,
0:48:57 > 0:49:02and in 1994, he made his first trip back to Wales
0:49:02 > 0:49:04to meet all the members of his long-lost family.
0:49:05 > 0:49:06There he is! Dave!
0:49:25 > 0:49:28There were certainly aspects of Australia's immigration policies
0:49:28 > 0:49:30in the 20th century that have left
0:49:30 > 0:49:33the country with an uncomfortable legacy.
0:49:34 > 0:49:39But today, it's fair to say that this is an increasingly-confident,
0:49:39 > 0:49:40multicultural society.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45Now, in the 21st century, Australia picks
0:49:45 > 0:49:47and chooses its immigrants from all over the globe.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51And it's still an extremely popular destination,
0:49:51 > 0:49:54thanks to its status as one of the most affluent
0:49:54 > 0:49:57and culturally-buoyant societies in the world.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04Nowhere is that cultural pride more in evidence
0:50:04 > 0:50:07than in the field of movies and music.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09Big-name Australian stars are increasingly
0:50:09 > 0:50:11prominent on the world stage.
0:50:13 > 0:50:15And what's surprising is how many of them have Welsh roots.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20# I just can't get you out of my head... #
0:50:21 > 0:50:25From Kylie, whose family came from Maesteg, Olivia Newton-John,
0:50:25 > 0:50:28whose father was from Cardiff, actress Naomi Watts,
0:50:28 > 0:50:30who was brought up in Anglesey...
0:50:32 > 0:50:34..and even that all-Australian actor Russell Crowe had
0:50:34 > 0:50:36a grandfather from Wrexham.
0:50:48 > 0:50:52The Australian appetite for a good show is certainly on display
0:50:52 > 0:50:54here today in Sydney Harbour.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01This is Australia Day, a holiday commemorating
0:51:01 > 0:51:05the arrival of that first fleet of convicts back in 1788.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11It's a chance to celebrate all things Australian,
0:51:11 > 0:51:13and it's a sign of that national confidence
0:51:13 > 0:51:16that it's also an opportunity for Australians to wave
0:51:16 > 0:51:19the flag of their countries of origin.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22Here under Sydney Harbour Bridge, there's a good turnout
0:51:22 > 0:51:25of the Welsh contingent at Sydney's Celtic Festival.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27# Henffych fore
0:51:27 > 0:51:30# Henffych fore
0:51:30 > 0:51:33# Caf ei weled fel y mae. #
0:51:35 > 0:51:38I was all set to join these festivities when I received
0:51:38 > 0:51:42an invitation to travel to Canberra, the capital city of Australia,
0:51:42 > 0:51:46to meet the most famous Australian, and certainly the most powerful one.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50Julia Gillard was born in Barry in Glamorgan,
0:51:50 > 0:51:54but I met her at the official residence of the Prime Minister
0:51:54 > 0:51:55of Australia.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59- Prime Minister.- Hello, lovely to meet you.
0:51:59 > 0:52:01- Thank you very much for making time today.- You're very welcome.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04- Am I allowed to say happy Australia Day?- You certainly are.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07That's the only thing you possibly say today, happy Australia Day!
0:52:07 > 0:52:09Thank you very much. Shall we take a seat?
0:52:11 > 0:52:13Prime Minister, thank you very much
0:52:13 > 0:52:15for sparing time today of all days to talk to us.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18- You're very welcome. - That's very kind of you.
0:52:18 > 0:52:22Lots of people have different ideas of Wales and what Wales represents.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25So, if I said Wales to you, what's the first thing
0:52:25 > 0:52:26that comes into your mind?
0:52:26 > 0:52:29Oh, I just say it's where my family's from.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32I was very small when we left Wales, I was only four years old,
0:52:32 > 0:52:34so I don't have any original memories,
0:52:34 > 0:52:38but I have all of the family stories that have sort of defined
0:52:38 > 0:52:40who we are and where we came from.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43To what extent are you aware, then, of that Welsh heritage?
0:52:43 > 0:52:45Are those stories things that are dear to you,
0:52:45 > 0:52:48things that you cherish? Are they things you hold on to,
0:52:48 > 0:52:51or are they things that you've kind of left behind?
0:52:51 > 0:52:55No, they're absolutely things that I cherish and hold on to.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58I always knew, growing up, that we had migrated, and Mum and Dad had
0:52:58 > 0:53:02made this difficult decision, and we'd come halfway around the world.
0:53:02 > 0:53:06That was in days when international telephone calls were booked
0:53:06 > 0:53:08through the operator,
0:53:08 > 0:53:11and the price of airline tickets was just astronomically high,
0:53:11 > 0:53:13compared with people's incomes.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15So, you couldn't just go back.
0:53:16 > 0:53:20So, my idea of who we are and what sort of formed us was really built
0:53:20 > 0:53:23through their eyes and their stories about Wales,
0:53:23 > 0:53:26and I was really keen to get back and see it for myself.
0:53:26 > 0:53:30I was also keen to have that sense of extended family.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34We only ever had my father, my mother, my sister and I.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38Everybody else had aunties, uncles, grandmothers, the whole lot.
0:53:38 > 0:53:43We didn't, and so I wanted to know where all of our people were.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45What prompted the move in the first place?
0:53:45 > 0:53:47Why did your parents make that very difficult decision?
0:53:47 > 0:53:49It was a mix of things.
0:53:49 > 0:53:54I was born with bronchial pneumonia, I was very sick as a child.
0:53:54 > 0:53:57They were told by doctors that I would always find it
0:53:57 > 0:54:01difficult in Welsh winters, and perhaps have to miss a lot of school.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03So, that weighed on their mind.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06And Dad thought to himself that there was more economic opportunity
0:54:06 > 0:54:09in Australia, that it was a big thing to do,
0:54:09 > 0:54:12but ultimately the family would be better off.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15And so, all of that came together to reinforce a decision of,
0:54:15 > 0:54:18"Yes, we're going to go," and we went.
0:54:18 > 0:54:20The transition, how difficult was it?
0:54:20 > 0:54:24What did your parents say about the process of starting a new life
0:54:24 > 0:54:26thousands of miles away from home?
0:54:26 > 0:54:28How difficult was that for them?
0:54:28 > 0:54:31They found it pretty hard. They had a lot of advantages.
0:54:31 > 0:54:33The language, you know.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37Our journey is nothing compared with the people who came here not speaking
0:54:37 > 0:54:40a word of English and had to get to grips with the language as well.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43But even with the benefit of speaking English,
0:54:43 > 0:54:46Mum and Dad do remember it as a difficult time.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48They actually arrived in a drought,
0:54:48 > 0:54:53and so it was economically tough, it was hard for Dad to get a job.
0:54:53 > 0:54:57And they had a sense that Australia was a bit behind Wales then.
0:54:57 > 0:54:59Mum talks about having to let her skirts down
0:54:59 > 0:55:01because they were too short.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04Then, there are things about the Australian idiom that took them
0:55:04 > 0:55:05a while to get used to.
0:55:05 > 0:55:09Dad tells this story of being on the bus late at night, coming home
0:55:09 > 0:55:13from work and the bus driver saying to him, "See you later, mate,"
0:55:13 > 0:55:16and Dad going home and saying to my mum,
0:55:16 > 0:55:18"Gee, the bus driver's coming round!"...
0:55:20 > 0:55:23..and it taking them a while to work out that this was just
0:55:23 > 0:55:25a way of saying goodbye, rather than,
0:55:25 > 0:55:29"I'll be at your house for a cup of tea fairly soon."
0:55:29 > 0:55:32I just want to talk a little bit about your political values.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35Because, as I understand it, and please tell me if I've got it wrong,
0:55:35 > 0:55:39your parents were originally from the South Wales Valleys,
0:55:39 > 0:55:41which have a great and rich tradition
0:55:41 > 0:55:44of radical, left-of-centre politics.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48To what extent did that background, via your parents,
0:55:48 > 0:55:51inform your political stance, your political values?
0:55:51 > 0:55:56It's really a very keen shaper of my political values.
0:55:56 > 0:56:01My father is from one of the coal-mining villages in South Wales,
0:56:01 > 0:56:05and he particularly transmitted values that he learned
0:56:05 > 0:56:09in his coal-mining village and his family home.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12To him, trade unionism was everything.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14It was mandatory to be part of the union,
0:56:14 > 0:56:18and it was the only way that working people ever got a chance
0:56:18 > 0:56:21or ever got a fair deal, if they got into the union.
0:56:21 > 0:56:25So, a real almost religion with him, and that came through.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29My mother grew up in Barry, from a more middle-class family.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31Her father was an engineer.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33But she, too, always had a great sense
0:56:33 > 0:56:36of social justice and what was right.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39So both of them, their Welsh heritage,
0:56:39 > 0:56:42their Welsh values and background shaped me.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46I think a Prime Ministerial visit to Wales would go down very, very well,
0:56:46 > 0:56:50Prime Minister, if I may say so. Just a gentle suggestion!
0:56:50 > 0:56:52Well, one of these days, I'd love to.
0:56:52 > 0:56:56I don't think this year is going to be a possibility for it.
0:56:56 > 0:56:57Might be a bit busy.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00Yes, I've got an election to fight during the course of this year,
0:57:00 > 0:57:03but I have had our High Commissioner in Britain say
0:57:03 > 0:57:06on more than one occasion, "You've got to get there,
0:57:06 > 0:57:10"you've got to go to Wales," so wouldn't it be a great opportunity,
0:57:10 > 0:57:12if it's possible in the future?
0:57:12 > 0:57:14Prime Minister, I'm going to say, diolch yn fawr.
0:57:14 > 0:57:16- Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26From convicts to Prime Ministers,
0:57:26 > 0:57:30the Welsh have made quite a journey here in Australia.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33So, what is the common thread that connects the experience
0:57:33 > 0:57:37of those first settlers with today's Welsh Australians?
0:57:38 > 0:57:41There is one word which sums up the appeal of Australia
0:57:41 > 0:57:45that's as true today as it has been for the past 200 years.
0:57:45 > 0:57:47That word is opportunity.
0:57:47 > 0:57:51The kind of opportunity that brings personal fulfilment,
0:57:51 > 0:57:54economic gain and a sense of freedom...
0:57:55 > 0:57:57..not to mention plenty of sunshine.
0:58:00 > 0:58:06And for so many people, Wales just can't compete with all of that.
0:58:06 > 0:58:09What I've discovered here is that the Welsh are very comfortable
0:58:09 > 0:58:12with a dual identity.
0:58:12 > 0:58:13They haven't rejected Wales,
0:58:13 > 0:58:17but they have fully embraced this wonderful country
0:58:17 > 0:58:19and they've played a big part
0:58:19 > 0:58:23in Australia's remarkable success story.
0:58:23 > 0:58:24Long may that continue.
0:58:56 > 0:58:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd