'Ti voglio raccontare.' Oral narratives of a migration stream from Campania (Italy) to Adelaide after the Second World War

Abstract

This paper presents selected findings from the oral testimonies of a group of first generation Italians who were born in the region of Campania in Southern Italy and who emigrated to the city of Adelaide, in South Australia, in the 1950s-1960s. It considers data drawn from two discrete groups: firstly, Campanians who migrated to Adelaide after the Second World War, and who now live there; and secondly, a small number of them who moved to Adelaide in the same period but who decided to return to Italy. The narratives of both groups were examined to analyse issues of cultural dislocation, the maintenance of core values, identity formation and the development of ways to help the integration of Australian-born children. The reasons for repatriation of the second group were of particular interest.