At a glance
- When
- Friday 6 to Sunday 8 November 2026 (Victorian time, AEDT)
- Where
- Bonegilla Migrant Experience, 132 Bonegilla Road, Bonegilla, Victoria, 12 km from Wodonga
- Cost
- Site admission is $8 for an adult and $7 for a concession, with children 16 and under free; guided tours start at $21 for an adult; the Hungarian day is free with admission; the Sunday concert is $25; the long Friday tour with lunch is $65
- Booking
- The long Friday tour must be booked and closes at 4pm on Wednesday 4 November unless it sells out first; the guided-tour page says it is best to book because places are limited; the concert has a Book Now button
- Saturday night
- A film and live music show at Albury Entertainment Centre at 7:30pm, tickets from $20.00
- Who it’s for
- Families with a link to post-war migration, local history readers, and anyone after a weekend of free or low-cost live music near Wodonga
- What to do now
- Pick your sessions from the program below and book the tours and the concert through the Bonegilla website
- Last checked
- Thursday 29 October 2026, against Bonegilla Migrant Experience’s program and event pages, Wodonga Council’s newsroom and Albury Entertainment Centre
- Not yet confirmed
- Parking arrangements for the weekend, any shuttle from Albury or Wodonga, and whether concert tickets can be bought at the gate
Spring into Bonegilla runs from Friday 6 to Sunday 8 November 2026 at the former Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre near Wodonga, with guided tours every day, a free Hungarian celebration on Saturday and a ticketed Italian open-air concert on Sunday afternoon. The program page says some events require a booking, and the tours and the concert have booking links; the site is otherwise open on its normal admission fee.
This guide is based on the program and individual event pages published by Bonegilla Migrant Experience, Wodonga Council’s newsroom and Albury Entertainment Centre’s listing, all read on 29 October 2026. Where an official page does not say something, we say so.
What is on, day by day?
The official program lists the following sessions. All of them are at Bonegilla Migrant Experience except the Saturday evening screening, which is at Albury Entertainment Centre.
| Day | Time | Session |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 6 November | 10am to 2:30pm | Exclusive in-depth camp tour with lunch |
| Friday 6 November | 11am to 12:30pm | Guided tour |
| Friday 6 November | 1pm to 2:30pm | Guided tour |
| Saturday 7 November | 11am to 3:30pm | Hungarian celebration |
| Saturday 7 November | 11am to 12:30pm | Guided tour |
| Saturday 7 November | 12pm | Opening of the exhibition Bonegilla Through Hungarian Eyes |
| Saturday 7 November | 2pm to 3:30pm | Guided tour |
| Saturday 7 November | 7:30pm | Screening of Bonegilla: Their Life in a Suitcase, at Albury Entertainment Centre |
| Sunday 8 November | 11am to 12:30pm | Guided tour |
| Sunday 8 November | 1pm to 2:30pm | Guided tour |
| Sunday 8 November | 4pm to 6pm | Lorenzo & The Spaghetti Connection, Italian music |
Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre was, in Wodonga Council’s words, the first Australian home for more than 320,000 migrants after World War II. The site is National Heritage-listed, and Bonegilla Migrant Experience describes it as Australia’s only national heritage-listed migrant camp.
How much does it cost, and what needs booking?
| Session | Price | Booking |
|---|---|---|
| Site admission | Adult $8 for one, concession $7 for one, children 16 and under free | No booking mentioned |
| Guided tour (one session) | Adult $21 and concession $18 and child (16 and under) $11 and family $54 (two adults and two children); includes site admission | Booking recommended, places are limited |
| Exclusive in-depth tour with lunch (Friday) | $65 per person; includes lunch, drinks, tea and coffee, site admission and bus transport between tour sites | Required; closes at 4pm on Wednesday 4 November unless sold out |
| Hungarian celebration (Saturday) | Free with site admission | No booking mentioned; guided tours cost extra |
| Lorenzo & The Spaghetti Connection (Sunday) | $25 per person; includes site admission from 3pm | Book Now button on the event page; the page does not say whether tickets are sold at the gate |
| Bonegilla: Their Life in a Suitcase (Saturday night) | Full price $43.00 and concession $39.00 and under 25 $20.00 and group of six or more $37.00 each and member $35.00 | Through Albury Entertainment Centre |
One detail does not match between the official pages. The family price for a guided tour is $54 on the Hungarian celebration page and the program, and $52 on the individual guided tour page. Check the price when you book.
What happens on the long Friday tour?
The Friday tour is a four-hour experience that the organisers call exclusive. The listing says it goes into parts of the former camp that are usually closed to the public, including Latchford Barracks, where the last remaining original building and footings on the site can be seen.
The official itinerary is:
- 10am: the tour leaves from the Welcome Centre.
- 10:15am: a bus tour through Latchford Barracks and surrounds.
- 12pm: lunch at Bonegilla Migrant Experience.
- 1pm: a guided tour of Block 19, the National Heritage-listed part of the site.
- 2:30pm: the tour ends.
The listing says about 1.5 hours of the day is walking, that several paths are unsealed, and that the bus is not wheelchair accessible. It asks people to wear comfortable, enclosed shoes and to bring a hat and sunscreen in hot weather or a raincoat and umbrella if it is cool or wet. If you need transport between Albury or Wodonga and the site, the organisers ask you to contact them directly.
What is the Hungarian celebration on Saturday?
Saturday 7 November is the Hungarian day, from 11am to 3:30pm. The official listing describes folk dancing and music by the Fonó Hungarian Dance Group from 1pm to 3pm, Hungarian activities and lawn games all day, and Hungarian-inspired food and drinks for sale. It is free with site admission, though the guided tours that day cost extra.
At 12pm, the exhibition Bonegilla Through Hungarian Eyes opens, with an address from Dr Endre Domaniscky, the Head of Melbourne’s Consular Office of Hungary. The Victorian Hungarian Council presents the exhibition, which Ilona Fekete and Levente Várdai curated. It is bilingual and uses personal accounts, photographs and historical material from Hungarians who arrived after World War II. The listing says it marks the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian refugee wave.
The exhibition is in the Mess Hall and stays on display until Sunday 7 November 2027, so you can see it after the weekend too. Entry is free with site admission. The site is open Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 4pm.
What is the Sunday concert, and can I bring a picnic?
On Sunday 8 November from 4pm to 6pm, Melbourne group Lorenzo & The Spaghetti Connection plays an open-air concert on the grounds of Block 19. The listing describes classic swing, brass and Italian songs, and tells people to bring a chair or picnic rug. Tickets are $25 and include site admission from 3pm, so you can arrive early and walk the site first.
BYO food and alcohol are welcome at the concert, according to the listing, and only a small selection of drinks and snacks is sold at the Welcome Centre. If the weather is bad, the concert moves indoors to Tudor Hall.
What is the Saturday night screening in Albury?
At 7:30pm on Saturday 7 November, Albury Entertainment Centre shows Bonegilla: Their Life in a Suitcase, by Simon Reich, with the Moodemere String Quartet. The venue’s listing calls it a multimedia performance built from interviews with post-war migrants from several European countries, shown on screens with their own photographs and videos, with a string quartet and grand piano live on stage. It is the sequel to Bonegilla: The Migrant’s Journey. Tickets are listed at $43.00 full price, with the lower prices in the table above.
How do I get to Bonegilla?
Bonegilla Migrant Experience is at 132 Bonegilla Road, Bonegilla, 12 km from Wodonga. Its guided tour page says it is about a 15 minute drive from Wodonga. The official directions from Wodonga take Thomas Mitchell Drive east from the roundabout near the water tower, which becomes Anzac Parade and then the Murray Valley Highway, and then turn left at the Bonegilla Road sign and right into the site.
From Albury, the directions follow Dean Street east to the Riverina Highway, then Borella Road, then the Riverina Highway to Lake Hume. They turn right onto Hume Weir Road, cross Heywood Bridge, which becomes Bonegilla Road, and turn left into the site where it is signposted.
The pages we read do not describe parking for the weekend or any bus from Albury or Wodonga. The organisers’ only transport note is to contact them if you need transport to the site for the Friday tour. Their number is (02) 6020 6912.
What should I check before I go?
- The site closes on public holidays, except Good Friday, Easter Monday and Boxing Day, and it also closes when a Catastrophic fire danger rating is declared. Check the fire danger rating on the day.
- Most buildings have ramp access, according to the site’s visitor page.
- The Welcome Centre sells merchandise and light refreshments, and visitors can bring a picnic to eat on the grounds.
- The exhibition and the site’s regular tours carry on after the weekend, so you do not have to choose a single day.
Sources
- Bonegilla Migrant Experience: Spring into Bonegilla cultural weekend (program)
- Exclusive in-depth Bonegilla Migrant Camp tour with lunch
- Hungarian celebration at Bonegilla
- Lorenzo & The Spaghetti Connection: Italian music performance
- Bonegilla Through Hungarian Eyes exhibition
- Bonegilla Migrant Experience: Opening times and How to get here
- Wodonga Council: A weekend of culture, music and heritage awaits at Bonegilla (8 October 2026)
- Albury Entertainment Centre: Bonegilla, Their Life in a Suitcase
Featured image: Bonegilla Migrant Camp, Block 19 (photo: Sheba_Also 43,000 photos / CC BY-SA 2.0) (text added)
OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with Bonegilla Migrant Experience, Wodonga Council or Albury Entertainment Centre. Event details can change; check the Bonegilla website before you go.