DescriptionThis interview consists of one video recording. Sara Bressa was interviewed on 25 June 2019 at Studio 2166 in the Whitlam Library, Cabramatta by Alinde Bierhuizen.Interview SummarySara’s family had to leave Chile for political reasons in 1975, when she was almost sixteen years old. During a violent coup in1973, the democratically elected government was overthrown and a military junta, headed by dictator Augusto Pinochet, seized power.
Sara, her parents, two brothers and sister sought refuge in Argentina and with the help of an aid organisation applied for resettlement in Mexico, Canada and Australia. The first country to accept the family was Australia, so that is where they went.
The Qantas flight to Sydney made a lasting impression on Sara: ‘They gave us little kangaroo pins, toys, sweets, lollies. They were very nice. And also, we had the spray when we arrived in Sydney. They used to grab these cans, I don’t know what it was, and used to spray the plane.’
The family was taken to the Westbridge Migrant Hostel in Villawood, or “Villawood” for short. Villawood was one of many migrant hostels in New South Wales, built after the Second World War to accommodate newly-arrived migrants and refugees and assist them with resettlement. A second migrant hostel in the area was located in Cabramatta. Villawood was later converted into an immigration detention centre and still operates as such.
Sara describes Villawood as a ‘cushioned environment... We had food prepared for us... There was a Bank, a Commonwealth Employment Office, we had a little shop where you could go and buy, there were a couple of public phones that you could ring overseas, one of those tin sheds where you used to play ping pong, table tennis in. Only when we got out of there and we went for a walk to Chester Hill, we then saw the real Australia.’
Osito, Sara’s treasured teddy bear, has been a faithful companion over the years. Given to her by her father at the age of five, he was there during her happy childhood, witness to some ‘very ugly moments in Chile and Argentina’ and travelled with her to Australia, to find a new home.Date25/06/2019IntervieweeSara BressaInterviewerAlinde BierhuizenDuration00:11:22Transcripts availableNoRightsFairfield City CouncilAccess conditionsAccess open for research, written permission required for personal copies and public useNotesThis interview forms part of the exhibition 'Treasures from Home' which was on display at Fairfield City Museum & Gallery from 24 August 2019 to 15 February 2020.
Sara Bressa Oral History (25/06/2019). Fairfield City Heritage Collection, accessed 15/01/2026, https://heritagecollection.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/890
