For most of his life, Cam Sojan believed his family history had been lost. While he knew his father had been born in Geraldton before later serving in the military, very little else was ever discussed about his family's origins. After his father's death, the unanswered questions remained, leaving Mr Sojan to create his own theories about where his family came from.
Everything changed in 2025 when the Brisbane resident began researching his ancestry and came across the Irwin District Historical Society in Dongara, Western Australia. The volunteer-run organisation has spent decades preserving photographs, journals, records and artefacts documenting the region's multicultural history.
Among its collection were historic Sikh journals that revealed a remarkable family connection. The records showed Mr Sojan is a fourth-generation descendant of Sojan Singh, a Sikh man who arrived in Dongara during the late nineteenth century as part of a wave of Sikh and Afghan migrants who helped build regional Australia.
For Mr Sojan, discovering these documents transformed his understanding of his identity. After years of uncertainty, he finally learned about his great-grandfather and extended family, information he had never previously known.
Motivated by the discovery, he travelled from Brisbane to Western Australia with his wife, Allison, to meet relatives for the first time. During the visit, he reunited with cousins, an uncle and other family members in Geraldton, sharing stories, memories and experiences that had been hidden from him for decades.
Mr Sojan said the journey gave him a sense of belonging and connection he had never experienced before. Knowing where he came from helped him feel grounded and strengthened his appreciation for Australia's multicultural history.
He also reflected on why his family's heritage had remained largely unknown. According to Mr Sojan, the experiences of earlier generations during the White Australia Policy era contributed to many families suppressing aspects of their cultural identity. He believes his father experienced discrimination while growing up and chose to leave that part of his life behind rather than pass it on to future generations.
For the volunteers at the Irwin District Historical Society, stories like Mr Sojan's demonstrate the importance of preserving historical collections.
Society secretary Trish Parker said conserving journals, photographs and personal objects allows future generations to reconnect with their families and communities. She described helping Mr Sojan discover his heritage as an honour and said moments like these reinforce why preserving local history matters.
The story highlights the value of regional historical societies, whose collections often contain personal records unavailable anywhere else. Beyond preserving artefacts, they help protect the memories of migrant communities that played an important role in shaping regional Australia.
For Cam Sojan, what began as a search for answers became a deeply personal journey of identity, family and belonging. Thanks to a carefully preserved collection in a small Western Australian town, he now understands the history that connects him to generations before him and hopes others will also embrace Australia's diverse cultural heritage.
