Marayong Camp

In Transfield: The first 20 Years, Gianfranco Cresciani writes that EPT set up a permanent camp and workshop at Marayong, near Blacktown in NSW:

"Everything was shipped from Italy, labourers, materials, and prefabricated dwellings. They established a little Italian community with a cook, a priest and even a little church. They occasionally invited people from neighbouring suburbs to attend meetings, theatrical performances and parties, and also to have the chance to speak Italian and enjoy Italian culture, hospitality and heritage." (p 17)

My father often said that when he arrived in Australia, he was taken out to the camp at Blacktown, so I am assuming this is what he was referring to. The camp was not salubrious by anyone's standards and was comprised of barracks style accommodation. You can get an indication of what the camps were like from some of the photos posted to the map (the Port Augusta, SA, photos are probably the most explicit).