The Forgotten Children (37 page)

Fairbridge, Kingsley,
The Autobiography of Kingsley Fairbridge
, Oxford University Press, London, 1927

Fairbridge, Ruby,
Pinjarra: The Building of a Farm School
, Oxford University Press, London, 1937

Gill, Alan,
Orphans of the Empire: the shocking story of child migration to Australia
, Millennium Books, Alexandria, 1997

Humphries, Margaret,
Empty Cradles
, Doubleday, London, 1994

Magee, Len, unpublished autobiography, 2004

Moss, John,
Child Migration to Australia
, HMSO, London, 1953

Penglase, Joanna,
Orphans of the Living: Growing up in care in twentieth-century Australia
, Curtin University Books, Fremantle, 2005

Rutherford, D. A.,
Follow Fairbridge the Founder
, Cabonne Printers, Molong, 1983

Sherington, Geoffrey and Jeffery, Chris,
Fairbridge, Empire and Child Migration
, University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands, 1998

Tuder, Len (Len Cowne),
A Pommie Kid
, unpublished autobiography

‘Child Migration to Australia: Report of a Fact-finding Mission’, Commonwealth Relations Office, British Parliamentary Papers, 1955–6

‘Comments of the General Secretary of Fairbridge Farm Schools on the Findings and Suggestions of Mr. Garnett’, Green, W., Fairbridge Foundation, Sydney, 1945

‘Lost Innocents: Righting the Record’, Australian Senate, Community Affairs Reference Committee report, 2001

‘Report of the Care of Children Committee’, British Parliamentary Papers, 1946–7

Report on Farm Schools in Australia’, Garnett, W., Fairbridge Foundation, Sydney, 1944

Sherington papers, box 4 ML 1781/79, State Library of New South Wales

‘The Welfare of Former British Child Migrants’, British House of Commons Select Committee for Health report, 1998

I am grateful to a large number of people for their support and assistance with the book, including my friends, colleagues and members of the Fairbridge Heritage Association, which is endeavoring to compile a comprehensive historic record of the Fairbridge Farm School at Molong.

I would like to acknowledge the support I received from a number of organisations. They include the Fairbridge Foundation, who supported the recording of Fairbridge’s history and allowed me access to some of the farm school files held in their Sydney Office; the staff of the Special Collections and Archives of the University of Liverpool Library, for their assistance in accessing UK Fairbridge Society material; the staff both of the State Library of New South Wales and at State Records NSW; and the NSW Migration Heritage Centre and the New South Wales Heritage Office, who provided some financial support for the recording of the oral histories of former Fairbridge children. I must also thank Professor Geoffrey Sherington, who helped me to access his Fairbridge papers, which are held in the State Library of New South Wales.

The Old Fairbridgians’ Association supported the book and provided me with assistance in contacting many of the former Fairbridge children whose stories are told on these pages. The Molong Historical Society and Museum have been very helpful and allowed me to use photos in their collection – as did former Fairbridge children Eddie Baker and Eric ‘Chook’ Fowler. I am also grateful to the current owner of the Fairbridge Farm, Moffat Beydoun, who allowed me access to the old Fairbridge Farm School site.

I appreciate the help I received from the staff at Random House, including Tim Whiting and Catherine Hill for their professionalism, understanding and guidance.

I am indebted to my family, including my brothers and my wife, Stergitsa, for the strength of their support; and to my son Damian, who turned five years old when I was writing the book and became an important reference point as I realised he was older than many children were when they were sent out to Fairbridge.

The most important information in the book has come from former Fairbridge children, and I am grateful to all of them for sharing their stories or supplying me with their letters, photos diaries, memoirs, unpublished autobiographies, and other personal records and files.

Finally, a special thank you to Ian ‘Smiley’ Bayliff, who was a friend of mine when I was a boy at Fairbridge and with whom, some forty years later, I have renewed a close friendship. Smiley has been a good friend to lots of former Fairbridge kids. He has been collecting data about Fairbridge for many years now and has been a valuable source of information to me, helping to fill in many gaps that have opened in the decades since I was at Fairbridge.

absconding

abuse

contaminated food

investigations by Child Welfare Department

legislation prohibiting

physical

public thrashings

rejecting criticism about

sexual

Amery, Leo

Anderson, Sir Colin

Angliss, William

S.S.
Arcadia

Armstrong, Jack

Armstrong, Mr

Aubrey, D. W.

Auntie Effie

Baden-Powell, Robert

bakehouse, stealing from

Baker, Eddie

Baker, Molly

Bannerman, Margaret

Bannerman, Norm ‘Goofy’

Barnardo’s

Barkingside children’s home

farm schools

Sydney children’s homes

Barr, Jenny

Bates, Tom

Bayliff, Ian ‘Smiley’

Bayliff, Kerry

Beauchamp, Richard

Begley, Ted

Bennett, Marie

Bennett, Peter

Bennett, Peter (genealogist)

Bigrigg, Roland

Bingham, Vivian

Bodily, Peter

Boelter, Ilse

Boelter, Kurt

Boelter, Ulrica

Booty, John ‘Swagman’

Bow, Kathleen
see
Hill, Kathleen

Boy Scouts

Bradfield, Clair

Bradfield, Jeanette

Bradfield, William

Brookman, Dolly
see
Palmer, Dorothy

Brookman, John

Brown, Charlie xiv Brown, Daphne

Brown, Norm

bullying

Burwood Methodist Home

Buswell, Julia

Calov, Dr W. L.

cameraderie amongst children

Child Emigration Society
see also

Fairbridge Society, London

child labour

child migrant schemes

blacklisted institutions

criticism of

Senate Committee report

Child Welfare Department of NSW

Children Act 1948 (UK)

Children’s Friend Society

Christian Brothers School, Bindoon

Christmas holidays

church

Clarendon Church of England Home

clothes

coldness

Commonwealth Relations Office (CRO)

contaminated food

Cook, Tommy

Costley-White, Mr

Cottage Garden competition

cottage mothers

Coutts, R. T.

Cowne, Len

Curtis Report

Da Freitas, Mrs

Daglish, Beryl

dairy

Dean, Ian

Depression, the

Dr Barnardo’s
see
Barnardo’s

Douglas-Home, Sir Alexander

Drapers Hall

Drury, Joyce

Duke and Duchess of York

Duke of Gloucester

Eastbourne

education

Fairbridge Council report

lack of

Pinjarra

Ellis, Janet

Ellis, Mickey

Ellis, Paul

embezzlement

Eva, David

Ewans, M. K.

Fairbridge, Charles Aken

Fairbridge Council, Sydney

Fairbridge Farm School, Canada

Fairbridge Farm School, Molong

aims of

arrival at

blacklisted

building

children’s world

closure

criticism

daily life at

decline of

donations to

emotional scars left by

heritage survey

leaving

opening

plan

principals

proposal to rename after Princess Elizabeth

public subscription campaign

refusal to reform

Fairbridge Farm School, Pinjarra

Fairbridge Farm School, Rhodesia

Fairbridge Foundation

Fairbridge Heritage

Association

Fairbridge, James William

Fairbridge, Kingsley

Fairbridge Primary School

Fairbridge, Rhys Seymour

Fairbridge, Ruby

Fairbridge Society, London

aims

as Child Emigration Society

Family Scheme

One Parent Scheme

origins

unfavourable report, reaction to

families of children

Family Scheme

family stays in holidays

farm duties

ferrets

Field, Jane

Field, Keith

Field, Laurie

Field, Malcolm ‘Flossy’

Field, Mrs

food

contaminated

nutritionist’s report

Fowler, Eric ‘Chook’

Gamboola estate

Garner, Sir Saville

Garnett, W. J.

Gerroa, camping at

Gidman, Linda

Girl Guides

Glasson, Mr and Mrs

Gloucester House

Goldsbrough Mort company

Goodenough, Sir William

Gowrie, Lord and Lady

Green, Gordon

Grey, Earl

Grundy, Jimmy

Guylor, Matron

Guylor, Michael

Halse Rogers, Sir Percival

Hambro, Sir Charles

Harris, John

Harris, Paul

Harris, Wendy

Harrop, E. T. ‘Harry’

Hatto, Mrs

Hawthorn, General

Haynes, Nigel

health care

Heath, Mr E.

Heffernan, V. A.

Heyes, Mr

Hicks, R. H.

Hill, Bill

Hill, David

arrival at Fairbridge

childhood in England,

‘Faddy’ nickname

leaving Fairbridge

life after Fairbridge

public flogging

schooling

trainee work

voyage to Australia

Hill, Dudley

Hill, Kathleen

Hill, Richard

Hill, Tony

Hitchens, George

Hodgkinson, Margaret

Home, Lord

Hoyles, William

Hudson, W. B.

Illawarra Grammar School

illness

Ismays’ hardware shop

Isolated Children’s Parents Association

jobs after leaving Fairbridge

John Howard Mitchell House

Johnson, E. H.

Johnson, Peter

Johnstone, Kathleen ‘Fag’

Jory, Glenwood

Junior Farmers Club

Kennedy, John

King, Billy

Kingsmill, H. L.

kitchen duties

Knight, Miss E. M.

Knockholt, Kent

lack of affection

lack of education

Langney Village, Sussex

Langshore, Bill

Lawley, Sir Arthur (Baron Wenlock)

Le Couteur, G. S.

Le Coutier, Mrs

leaving Fairbridge

Lee, Dora

Lee, Graham

Lee, Stewart

Lee, Syd

Lee, Sydney (Snr)

Legacy girls

legal guardianship of children

Lloyd George, David

Logan, H. L.

London Fairbridge Society
see
Fairbridge Society, London Lovell, David

Lumley, Lawrence

McFarlane, Henry

McLaughlan, Margaret

McMahon, Marina

Magee, Heather

Magee, Lennie ‘Moon’

Maycock, Peter ‘Stumpy’

Miller, Doug

Miller, Gwen

Miller, Huey

Miller, Kathy

Miller, Reg

Molong

Central School

churches

Farm School
see
Fairbridge

Farm School, Molong

Hospital

Pony Club

More, Sir Newton

Morgan, David

Moriarty, Derek

Moriarty, Paul

Morton, Keith

Moss Report

Murray, Christina

Neave, Jimmy

Neville, A. O.

New South Wales Child Welfare Act 1939

Newberry, M. A. G. ‘Jack’

Newell, David

nicknames

Northcote Home, Bacchus Marsh

Northcote Trust

Nuffield, Lord

Nyasaland

Nyngan, New South Wales

O’Brien, Mary

O’Brien, Myrtle

O’Brien, Paddy

Old Fairbridgians

emotional problems

jobs after leaving

Old Fairbridgians’ Association

Old Fairbridgians Grant and Loan Fund

One Parent Scheme

S.S.
Orama

Orange County Show

Orange High School

Osbourne, Brian

Overseas Migration Board (OMB)

Owen, Commander

Oxford Colonial Club

Oxford University

Palmer, Dorothy ‘Dolly’

Palmer, Emily

Palmer, Leonard

Palmer, May

Palmer, Thomas

parents of children

children searching for

One Parent Scheme

visiting Fairbridge

Phillips, Mr W.

Piercy, Barney

piggery

Pinjarra Farm School

pocket money

Ponting, John

Port Said

Prince of Wales (Edward)

Prince Philip

Princess (later Queen) Elizabeth

Princess Elizabeth Loan Fund

prison

public thrashings

punishment

rabbit hunting

Raymond, Dr R. L.

Reading, Sir Claude

Reid, Andrew

Reid, Laurie

relationships

religion

Rhodes, Cecil

Rhodes scholars

Rhodesia

Fairbridge Farm School in

Richards, Joshin

Roach, Ted

Ross, Mr J.

rugby league

running away

St John’s, Molong

Salisbury, Graham

Sandover, W. L.

Scarborough, Lord

school bus

school song

schooling

poor results

segregation from community

sex education

sexual abuse

Shannon, G. E. B.

Sharp, Liz

Sherington, Geoffrey

siblings separated

Simpson, Mary

Simpson, Ron

Sinclair, ‘Fatman’

Singleton, Roger

slaughterhouse

Slim, Sir William

Smith, Joe

smoking

Snowy Mountains project

‘Song of the Child Migrants’

Southern, Fred

sport

stealing

Stemp, Nobby

Stephens, Robert

stigmatisation

Stonehaven, Lord

S.S.
Strathaird

S.S.
Strathmore

S.S.
Strathnaver

suicides

Sullivan, Leo

Suret, Paul

Sydney

Sydney Fairbridge Council
see
Fairbridge Council, Sydney

Talbot, Lady

Tampling, Mrs

Tate, Ray

Taylor, Alan ‘Eggy’

Thomas, A. C.

Thorndike, Dame Sybil

trainees

boys

girls

Tresca House

unhappiness of children

Vaughan, W. B.

vegetable garden

Vietnam War

village muster

voyage to Australia

Walker, Jimmy ‘Tubby’

Walker, Michael

Wansbrough-Jones, G. M.

Watkins, Dorothy

Watt, Joy

Watt, Margaret

Weekend Notice

Whittick, R. J.

Wilkes, Brian