Slovenians in Australia
After World War II many Slovenians decided that life was not necessarily going to improve in Yugoslavia, so they took a chance to begin a new life somewhere else. They left behind their homes, friends and, more importantly, their families. They travelled to the well-guarded border with only the clothes they wore and perhaps some food and water, cautiously crossing into Italy or Austria. From the refugee camps of Italy and Austria, most migrated on to countries such as Australia that were welcoming immigrant
In the early years, many Slovenian men were sent to work on the well-known Snowy Mountains Scheme, to the Queensland sugar cane fields or to remote areas working on railway line such as the West and South Australian Railway. Slovenian women were most commonly sent to work as domestics.