By Jamie O’Brien
The friendship, lifelong bonds and extraordinary contribution to society of some 180 former Child Migrants were last month acknowledged at a special reunion lunch held to mark the 70th Anniversary of their arrival in Western Australia.
The luncheon was layered with the sharing and gathering of photos, articles of their experiences and catching up on life events.
Event Coordinator Maureen Colgan said the 2017 luncheon was a wonderful opportunity, particularly in the context of the anniversary date, to honour the resilience, courage and contribution to the state by the former Child Migrants.
“The positive feeling in the room on the day was heart-warming and the reconnection inspiring,” she said.
Those in attendance at the special luncheon on Saturday 27 May arrived in Perth in 1947 on three distinct ship journeys; the SS Asturius in September, the HMS Ormonde in November and the SS Asturius again in December. Children who also arrived in Perth prior to and after 1947 were also present for the occasion.
The date chosen for the special reunion luncheon this year marked the date when in 1997, 40 former residents of St Joseph’s and Nazareth House joined together to plan and execute a return visit to the Orphanages from where they had come.
This was entitled their “Sentimental Journey” and at the time, marked the Golden Anniversary of their arrival in WA.
Former Child migrants who were later sent to St Joseph’s Orphanage Subiaco sang songs from their childhood during a special luncheon held to acknowledge the seventieth anniversary of their arrival in WA. Footage: Jamie O’Brien.
From the end of World War I to the late 1960’s, more than 150,000 children between the ages of three and 14 were sent to Commonwealth countries – including some 3,300 to Western Australia – from the United Kingdom and Malta, with the aim of retaining the racial integrity of Australia.
Children considered were all British stock, white and able bodied. Some 1,200 children were also sent to New Zealand, Zimbabwe and Canada.
The Child Migrant scheme was suspended during WWII and began again in 1947. No records were kept of their birth parentage, with parents, many of whom were single mothers and had admitted their child into care as a temporary measure, told that the child had died – not sent to Australia.
Upon their arrival, the children were met by then Archdiocese of Perth Archbishop Redmond Prendiville and following a welcome meal at St Patrick’s Parish Hall in Fremantle, were dispersed to Catholic Orphanages throughout WA, including St Joseph’s Orphanage Subiaco, Nazareth House Geraldton, Tardun and Bindoon Farm Schools and Clontarf and Castledare Orphanages.
The UK Government paid for the child’s maintenance and the Australian Government contributed to the capital costs of building orphanages. Boys were intended to work on the land and girls destined for domestic service.
Copies of Photos taken by The Record are available to those who attended the event. For more information, contact Communications Manager Jamie O’Brien on 08 9220 5900 or email jamie.obrien@perthcatholic.org.au.
Interested persons can also contact Tuart Place, 24 High Street, FREMANTLE WA 6160, Telephone 08 6140 2380 or Freecall 1800 619 795, via email to admin@tuartplace.org or visit www.tuartplace.org
Childhood questions lead to historical unravelling
Mundaring parishioner Maureen Briggs-Trewin was just 11 when she arrived in Australia.
Maureen’s mother Kathleen had been pressured to give her up and she was sent to Nazareth House in Hammersmith, London at age three.
At the age of 10 in 1952, with the promise of new life in a beautiful country, Maureen arrived in Fremantle on board the ‘New Australia’ and was sent to Nazareth House, Geraldton.
In reality, her life was about to take another dramatic turn. Maureen Briggs-Trewin tells her story to The eRecord.
“My mother Kathleen was expecting me out of wedlock,” Maureen explained. “Because of the stigma she was sent by her family (from London) to Manchester and I was to be signed over immediately for adoption.”
However, Maureen’s mother found the bond with her first born child too much to relinquish.
“She refused to let me go and she did her best to keep me. Unfortunately, there was no social services in those days,” Maureen said.
So for six months, Maureen’s mother worked as a domestic cleaner for a wealthy chemist and was allowed to keep her child. Kathleen returned to London with Maureen after being found by a cousin.
Eventually, when Maureen was three years old, Kathleen placed Maureen at Nazareth House orphanage in London.
In 1953, Maureen was taken from the orphanage and sent to Australia as part of the Child Migrant Scheme, arriving in Fremantle before heading to Nazareth House, Geraldton.
“I never stopped asking questions,” says Maureen about leaving Britain.
“I wanted to know where we were, were we were going and how long it would take to get there. I was told to stop talking but I didn’t,” she says.
“My mum didn’t know I had been sent to Australia – she did not give her consent, and I was told in Australia that my mum and dad had been killed in the war.”
For the six years she stayed there, she worked hard and under strict discipline. At the age of 12, Maureen recalls she was doing the work of a trained nurse, sleeping in the nursery to care for children brought in by the (then) department of child welfare.
She doesn’t remember going to school and when she received a Christmas present, she was made to return it.
At the age of 16, with just two pounds and a suitcase, she was sent to work on a domestic farm near Moora, caring for three children, while also keeping the house clean and cooking for the shearers. On more than one occasion when she ran away, state welfare returned her to the employer.
With no clear understanding of her identity and no birth certificate, it was a chance overseas holiday during her mid-20’s that led Maureen to obtain her ‘papers’, leading to her naturalisation as an Australian citizen.
“Immigration officials told me I was an alien because they had no record of my entering the country,” Maureen says.
“Those records have meant so much to me – they gave me a sense of completeness.”
As it turned out, in 1966 Maureen discovered she was not an orphan and that her mother had passed away. She also discovered she had a brother who was born from her mother’s second relationship – who shared the same birth date as her.
“I learnt that she [my mother] was calling for me when she passed away and documents found by trust researchers helped roll back the shroud of mystery of my life,” Maureen says.
In 2010, Maureen returned to London with other fellow former Child Migrants to meet with then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who issued a national apology to all former Child migrants.
Maureen says the apology was something she had wanted for many years because it was important there was some recognition of what child migrants had experienced.
In 2017 and now aged 75, Maureen says she is able to look back on her life positively, following a rewarding career as a Prison Officer where her experiences enabled her to be caring and empathetic.
She has also spent many years as an advocate and helping other child migrants trace their records and speaking publicly about her plight.
The Find and Connect Centre at 25 Southport Street West Leederville is open five days a week from 9am to 5pm. Appointments are not required and a website has been set up to provide information links and support. A freecall hotline is also available during office hours as part of an outreach service for people in rural and remote areas.