Following the bilateral agreement in 1967, the first group of Turks boarded a chartered Qantas plane from Ankara in October 1968. 163 passengers on that plane arrived in Sydney’s Mascot airport on Monday, 14 October 1968 and settled in Villawood hostel.

 

The group did receive a very warm welcome from Australian officials as well as the members of Australia's Cypriot Turkish community.

 

First days and month were hard for many who didn’t have the language skills. They worked hard and put their children to schools. Often in Turkish families, both parents were working.

 

Slowly, through hard work, they accumulated wealth and begin owning their own businesses. They have played their part in contributing to Australia’s multicultural richness.

 

Today most of those adults who were on that chartered Qantas plane are not live. The children on that plane have themselves become the parents and the grandparents of the new generation of Australians with Turkish heritage.