The facts

• The first people of Lebanese descent came to Australia in the 19th century, when the region now classified as Lebanon was part of the Ottoman empire.
• There have been three main waves of Lebanese migration – the largest coming after the outbreak of civil war in 1975. The population trebled between 1966 and 1976.
• The 2011 census recorded 76,451 Lebanon-born people, up 2.1 per cent from 2006. The majority (56,294) lived in NSW, with 15,871 in Victoria.
• The census recorded major religious affiliations among Lebanon-born Australians: Islam (33,560), Catholic (28,009) and Eastern Orthodox (7164).

COUNTLESS thousands of Melburnians have met the Eid brothers, even if they didn't know it at the time.

Together these three men boast close to a collective century as stalwarts of the local taxi industry, having delivered us to our front doors, to airport lounges, to train stations and from bus terminals, to weddings, funerals and all manner of important moments in between over four decades starting in the 1970s.

In many ways, Youssef, Tansa and Romanos Eid represent a classic immigration story of the latter half of the 20th century – arrivals along a timeline of new citizens who toiled in physical labour, who took charge of our culinary habits, who found a path to modest prosperity on wheels driving taxis or trains, and who raised second generations who broadened family horizons to take in every corner of national life.

Tansa Eid's daughter, Christine, for example, is an arts curator and researcher who appreciates the opportunities offered by life in the country to which her father and uncles migrated in the mid-1960s. When she first visited their home village of Hadchit, she understood the significance of that decision to leave.

"I saw where they grew up and I kissed my Mum and Dad and said 'Thank you so much for migrating'. And I was so sorry because I know how hard it was at first," Ms Eid says.

"We also had a hard time growing up, but it's so much better than life would have been had they not migrated. In Australia, and in Melbourne in particular, you just have these opportunities to do what you want to do. If we were in Hadchit I don't think that would have been the case."

For the three brothers, it was the possibility of such opportunity for the next generation that attracted them. The extended family ties to Australia date to 1926, when an uncle by marriage migrated. In 1965, encouraged by his brother-in-law's descriptions of a land of opportunity, the eldest Eid brother, Youssef, came over with his wife. Tansa followed in 1966, Romanos in 1967.

They were young men, in their late teens to early 20s, and for a time all three, plus their families, shared a house. They spoke little to no English, and worked as many migrants did in the textile trade, earning paltry sums. Those early days were miserable: money scarce, communication difficult, racism common – they were the "wogs" – and homesickness a curse.

"At the beginning we found it hard because of the language, we missed the family," says Tansa, "At the beginning we weren't mixing much and it makes it hard if you don't mix. At the beginning I was very sad."

It was a taxi-driving brother-in-law who inspired their move into the cab business, which promised greater freedom and considerably better money – it rewarded hard work and was a business opportunity within reach.

"We felt more freedom in the taxi, you could work any time you want, if you want to work mornings, if you want to work late, if you want to do more hours when you want more money for the family," says Tansa.

Each brother became an owner-driver, and they were fixtures on our roads until the early 2000s, when Tansa became the last to retire. The taxi trade proved the foundation for building the life they had dreamed of back in Hadchit, that gave them their own homes, and prospects for their children. The most successful driver of the three, his family concur, was Romanos, whose easy charm with passengers saw him become a Melbourne airport legend, famous for his embrace of the multiple-hire fare.

"He was the luckiest one," says Tansa. "He used to pick up one to the city, one to Prahran, one to St Kilda – legally he can charge everyone 75 per cent but people used to be very kind to him, they'd give him full fare. He was very lucky."

Nearly half a century on from their arrival, the Eid brothers all consider themselves lucky – grateful for the chances offered by their adopted home, knowing now that those early difficult years were worth it.

"You miss your home, you miss your friends," says Tansa. "It takes a couple of years to adjust. But then it changes and soon you love the place."

Explore the story of the Eid brothers on the Immigration Museum of Victoria website. museumvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum/discoverycentre/immigrant-stories/eid-brothers/