Edith Stahl is proud of where she came from.
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She worked hard for her family and for the now 86-year-old great-grandmother she loves sharing with her ever-growing family, who lovingly all call her Oma, the story of how she came to Australia.
Monday marks 60 years for Mrs Stahl.
The former Bonegilla migrant said marking that important milestone was something she had to share with her family.
Mrs Stahl went back to the Bonegilla Migrant Centre on Saturday to show her children, grand children and great-grandchildren where her Australian journey started.
Mrs Stahl arrived in Melbourne with her late husband Heinz and four children on December 16, 1959.
The family migrated from Germany by boat, "went from the boat to train and then to Bonegilla".
The Stahls never moved far from where their Australian lives started living in Baranduda and Eskdale before moving into Wodonga in 1965, the same year she became an Australian citizen.
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Mrs Stahl still lives in the same house today and said bringing her family to the former migrant centre was how she wanted to celebrate the six decades.
"They know all about how we came to be here and how we worked hard," she said.
"But coming here all together was what I wanted to do and it is important to remember it.
"We came here with four children and the other two were born in Wodonga and Tallangatta.
"It brings back a lot of memories coming back to Bonegilla but the flies are still bad."
Mrs Stahl has saved newspaper clippings from each time her or her husband have been featured sharing their story including one front page story from 1996.
"My husband kept everything but it is nice to show everyone stories from the old days," she said.
"History is important but I think this will be the last time I come back here to mark a milestone, I don't think we will be here for the 70th."
Mrs Stahl said she can still remember the smell of mutton the day they arrived in Bonegilla and said the centre, which is now a migrant museum, still looks the same to her.
"We used to sit on these steps and here I am 60 years later sitting again," she said.
