Marguerite Baptiste-Rooke
Seychelles
More information about the Seychelles-born community in Australia can be found at the DIMIA website.
Her own personal experience highlighted to her the difficulties with settlement, along with the opportunities that migration to the territory offered new arrivals.
Originally from the Seychelles, Marguerite Baptiste-Rooke arrived in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, with her husband and three children in 1989. A well travelled and well educated woman (Marguerite has visited, worked and studied in countries as diverse as the Emirates, Oman, USA, Russia, England, Switzerland, and Papua New Guinea) she hit the ground running when she arrived, immediately getting to work by volunteering at the Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) of Central Australia. She was president of the centre for seven years, assisting new migrants to the area with the settlement process. NO doubt, her own personal experience highlighted to her the difficulties with settlement, along with the opportunities that migration to the Territory offered new arrivals. The MRC operated with the aim of making the transitions easier for people following her into Central Australia.
In 1997 she stood down from the presidency of the MRC to take up the position of Community Settlement Support Worker. She is now Head of the Settlement Branch of the new Multicultural Community Services of Central Australia (formerly Migrant Resource Centre). In 2005 she was an inaugural winner of a Northern Territory Multicultural Affairs Award, in appreciation of the significant work she has done on behalf of the service in assisting immigrants to the Northern Territory and promoting multicultural diversity and harmony.
Marguerite has been involved with the community on many different levels ranging from school council chairperson to a member of Territory and Federal advisory councils. She has also been a community radio broadcaster since 1993 for the French and multicultural program on Northern Territory Radio, and is now a member of the Alice Springs local council.
Source of Image: http://www.alicesprings.nt.gov.au/council/elected_members.asp
Select Resources
Extensive searching has failed to reveal the presence of any community organisations or historical resources relating solely to migrants from the Seychelles in Australia. The Seychelles' membership status in a number of African intergovernmental organisations (for example the African Union and the Southern African Development Community), as well as the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) suggests that French-speaking and African organisations might reveal some information about women from the Seychelles in Australia. Below is a list of suggested starting points.
SBS Radio online
African Australian Online Resource
A website created by people of African and Australian backgrounds as a central online resource providing information on African Australian matters; including some articles of historical interest.
New South Wales
Francofolies French Resource Centre
102 Endeavour Street
Seven Hills NSW 2147
Phone/Fax 02 9831 7825
The Australian-Mauritian Association
209 Kendall Drive
Casula NSW 2170
Phone 02 9601 0076
The Mauritian Club
PO Box 46
Galston NSW 2159
Phone 02 9831 3615
Victoria
Community and Social Clubs, Victoria
The National Council of Mauritian Clubs in Australia
Phone 03 97 95 01 59
Association Franco-Australienne du Victoria
1/28 Kensington Rd
South Yarra VIC 3141
Association Francophone
Phone 03 9531 2474
Tropic Social Club
5 Elmore Court
Scoresby VIC 3179
See also:
Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia
PO Box 344 Curtin, ACT 2605
Phone:02 6282 5755
Fax: 02 6282 5734
fecca@coombs.anu.edu.au