Interviews with Tongan Migrants 3

Background

Peter came to Australia from Tonga in 1974 in search of employment and "to better our standard (of living)". Peter has a large family, most of whom have migrated to Australia also. He has four brothers and three sisters each with families of their own.

At present Peter has three children, all born in Australia, aged 12, 8 and 5 years.

Since migrating to Australia in 1974, Peter has visited Tonga five times. The longest he ever stayed there was two months in 1988.

Observations

Regarding the Australian way of life, Peter makes the comment that Australians "keep to themselves, no-one wants to know you. There are no extended family ties and no respect for older people".

Nevertheless Peter is happy living in Australia. "We have made our own ties with our family and we also work hard to better our standard have no dislikes for Australia, Im quite happy".

Even though Peter did initially find some difficulties in acquiring the English language, he soon picked it up. His children on the other hand, were born in Australia and so were not faced with any language difficulties and fitted into the Australian way of life quite easily.

Peter also expresses no qualms regarding the school system in Australia.

His children have had no difficulty settling into the school system and are not faced with any academic problems at present. Peter likes the Australian education system particularly because the "teachers are easy-going with the kids". Overall, "the education system is doing its job of teaching my kids, I just expect my kids to study hard. I want them to become doctors".

Conclusion

Both parents interviewed (David and Peter) express an overall satisfaction with the Australian way of life and its school system.

Both parents and their families have managed to successfully integrate themselves into the Australian society and have overcome any language barriers.

In terms of the Australian and Tongan education systems, both parents suggest that although the education in Australia is of a high standard, the approach to discipline is somewhat lax.