Summer Holidays 1955
Date1955
Object number00054504
NamePhotograph album
MediumBlack and white photographic prints on paper.
DimensionsOverall (closed): 107 × 165 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Gift from Robert Stephens
DescriptionPhotograph album compiled by the mother of Robert Stephens of a beach holiday she had on the Kent coast in 1955 with her daughters Margaret, Madeleine and Frances. Robert was sent to to Australia as an unaccompanied child migrant with the Fairbridge scheme in 1952.HistoryBetween 1913 and 1967, more than 7,000 British children were sent to Australia by charities such as Fairbridge, Barnardo's, and the Salvation Army. The Fairbridge Farm School in Molong NSW (opened 1937) was one of three farm training schools established under Fairbridge principles in Australia. South African philanthropist Kingsley Fairbridge aimed to alleviate the plight of British slum children by sending them to farm schools in the colonies. The idea was to remove children from impoverishment, while simultaneously developing remote rural areas of the British empire with young white labour.
Supported by the Western Australian government, Kingsley and his wife Ruby established the first Fairbridge Farm School at Pinjarra, south east of Perth in 1913. Fairbridge died in 1924, but the scheme continued. Children lived in cottages under a cottage mother, attended local state schools until they were 14, and then spent 12-18 months training in farm work on the property.SignificanceThis album reflects Robert Stephens' ongoing connections to his homeland and his family after his arrival in Australia in 1952. Robert’s story is typical of many former child migrants, who contrary to popular belief, were not orphans but came from broken homes or families struggling financially.
