Mitsue Stockley
Channel: Museum Riverina
Date: 2016-12-06

As an eleven year old, Mitsue was a survivor of the bombing of Hiroshima.  Mitsue first met her future husband, Roy Stockley, when he was serving with the Australian Occupation Forces.  Roy and Mitsue were married in Japan and returned to Wagga in the early 1950s.  Used to the large, bustling cities of Japan, Mitsue’s first impression of Wagga was that of ‘a ghost town’.  The early years in Wagga were not always easy for Mitsue, with racism and intolerance often directed toward both her and her two sons.   

Mitsue became an Australian citizen in 1958 and was to become a well known identity in Wagga, in her role of Japanese cultural ambassador to groups such as the CWA, the Girl Guides, WEA (Workers’ Educational Association), the Wagga Wagga International Club and the Wagga Wagga School of Arts.  During her years in Wagga Mitsue has worked in the kitchens of Calvary Hospital, as a beautician and as a shop assistant at Edmondsons and Best & Less.  Mitsue was also the host of a popular Japanese cooking program on RVN2 during its early years.

This film was made as part of From All Four Corners, an exhibition at the Museum of the Riverina in partnership with the Migration Heritage Centre in 2007. 

Find out more at http://museumriverina.com.au/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/from-all-four-corners