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the big brother movement
The first group of more than 200 boys sailed from England on the Jervis Bay, arriving in Melbourne, via Fremantle, on 14 December 1925. By 1927 over 300 'Little Brothers' had arrived in New South Wales. Between 1925 and 1929 almost 2,000 young males arrived in Australia with the Big Brother Movement. -
child migrants
you know from your study of history to date that ideas, values and notions of what is acceptable can change over time. in the 1940s, 1950s,1960s. there was a widely held belif that bringing out unaccompanied children and teenagers was a good thing for the country. there was little consideration of the physical and emotional impact of the program on the young people themselves. ideas about the treatment of children and young people are very different today. -
child migrants
but to gain a real insight into thinking of the particpants in this program, it is necessary to empathize with both the organisers and the young immigrants. -
the big brother movement
the scheme was more successful than the child migrant scheme, but it was not without its problems. some big and little brothers were not suitably matched, and their were little brothers who suffered homesickness and attempted to run away. most of the little brothers came from urban industrial enviroments, but their work was mainly in rural areas. about 500 youths per year arrived under this arrangement throughout the 1950s and 1960s. -
big brother movement
the migration of teenagers also boomed after the war. one significant government scheme to encourage this was called the 'big brother movement'. this was based on the similar scheme from the 1920s and 1930s. the scheme matched boys emigrating from britan ('little brothers') with a responsible adult in Australia ('big brother') who would provide support and advice to help them adjust to their new life. this provided reassurance and encouragemeant to youth migrants and their parents. -
Australia after world war II
Ben chifley became the leader of the Australian labour party (APL) and prime minister In 1945 soon after the death of Australia's wartime prime minister john curtin. -
aus after WW2
Ben Chifleys government created Australia's first department of immigration in 1945.
the first immigration minister was Arthur Caldwell who, in his first months in the role, made the governments intentions regarding the size of Australia's population clear. "if Australias have learnt one lesson from the Pacific war, now moving to a successful conclusion, its surely that we cannot continue for ourselves and our descendants unless we greatly increase our numbers. -
'bring out a briton'
immediately after the war, large numbers of people from across britain set sail for australia. after the wide scale devastation of world war II, reconstruction in europe was a massive task and in Britain, many felt a new beginning in Australia was the best option for their families. -
Aus after WW2
Ben Chifley was re-elected in 1946 to be Australia's post war recovery leader. his government developed a slogan to discribe the new policy on immigration - 'populate or perish' -
Aus after WW2
the result of this, the new policies were implemented by the APL government in the immediate postwar period and continued under the liberal - country party coalition menzies government from 1949. the government began actively promoting Australia as an attractive destination to resettle for people affected by world war II. as a part of this plan, it started to offer new incentives for those looking to make a fresh start away from the difficulties and challanges facing postwar europe. -
bring out a briton
in 1947 the British and Australian governments launched large programs to subsidise the cost of bristish migrants' voyages to Australia.
a process known as assisted migration. travel for children was free, and for adults the fare was reduced to just £10 (18 aud today), giving rise to the label 'ten pound pom' this became a common way of describing british migrants coming to australia during this period. -
child migrants
children were also encouraged to migrate to australia after world war II. although most would arrived with theirfamillies under the assisted migration schemes, there were many who migrated alone. this included children, some as young as three, who had been orphaned or were living in a very deprived circumstances after the war. in number of cases, children were taken from their families and communities against their will or against the will of their parents. -
child migrants
some children were taken in and adopted by families, but most lived in institutions run by church groups or charities. many received little education. there emigration of children was controversial, and had occurred for years in the former british colonies, including in the United States, Australia and new Zealand. younger migrants were attractive to the government. they were also seen as a source of cheap labour. the best interests of the children were rarely the first priority -
bring out a briton
in 1957 the Australia government launched a popular campaign called 'bring out a briton' this encouragaged australians to nominate british friends and relatives to come to Australia. local committees were formed to sponsor and recommened new migrants to the department of immigration for assisted passage. the successful campaign continued into the 1960s -
child migrants
although many had positive experiences, there are reports that many others suffered terrible living and working conditions. in some cases conditions were reportedly worse then those the children had left behind. and they suffered both physically and emotionally. the governments of Australia and Britain gave offical apologies (in 2009 and 2010 respectivly) to children and families affected by these child migration schemes. -
child migrants
an important element in historical understanding is empathy. empathy involves an attempt to see, hear and feel events and movementsin the past, from the perspective of people who lived at the time. one historian described empathy as 'not only standing in anothers shoes, but also walking around in them for a time.'