He has for several years been exploring and pondering the meanings of the former Bonegilla Reception Centre and was pleased in 2007 when his nomination of the site to the National Heritage List was accepted. He will explain why the site is of national significance and why the experiences of the post-war immigrants and the host society are worth revisiting nearly three quarters of a century later. Bruce came to Albury-Wodonga in 1983 and was initially involved in teaching Australian history and heritage prior to being recruited into university administration. Even though the university stopped paying him when he retired in 1999, he attends his university office daily to pursue his research interests, principally in border district history and heritage. He recently completed a seven-year stint on the History Advisory Panel of the NSW Planning Department’s heritage branch.