Date2022DescriptionImmigrating from her homeland of Poland in September of 1981 at the age of 28 her first impression of Australia as soon as she stepped off the plane was “it’s so bloody hot!”
For the first few years she was living between Wentworthville, Blacktown, and Cabramatta before finally settling in Fairfield because of the public transport access and close proximity to industry and schools. Otylia always liked Fairfield City as it reminded her of her hometown of Bierun in Katowice, Poland, as the town centre is shaped like a square with Smart Street and Ware street running parallel and creating the bounds.
At that time in the 80s, the first decade she first arrived in Australia, Otylia remembers Fairfield City being very multicultural with people from all over the world settling there as there would have been quite a few waves of migration after WWII.
Despite not speaking much English she found it relatively easy to find work and worked in a factory for over 20 years, with time off to have her second child, performing manual labour as a process worker. It’s there that she learned to speak very broken English alongside other immigrants also trying to learn the language. She remembers the time fondly, recalling speaking a mix of broken languages and still being able to understand her coworkers.
As with many immigrants, purchasing a ‘home’ here on Australian soil was a very important milestone and something that would secure her future. A complete brick home was at the top of the list of requirements and has lived in this full brick townhouse for 23 years.
Home to her is “a full home with all the children, and grandchildren, eating good food.”
- Renata Dominik, March 2023PhotographerRenata DominikNotesThese photographs are part of the 2022 City Photographer project.
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Image ColourColourTypeDigitalCopyrightPartial restriction. Please contact Fairfield City Heritage Services for image use.AcknowledgementRenata Dominik, 2022 Fairfield City Photographer. Image courtesy of Fairfield City Heritage Collection.
