Images(2)

Group aboard the MARINE PHOENIX

Publisher Fairfax Publications, Sydney Morning Herald

DateJune 1948

Object numberANMS1453[044]

NamePhotograph

Mediumphotographic print on paper

DimensionsOverall: 190 × 248 mm

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection

Terms

DescriptionA black and white image of five adults and two children on the deck of the MARINE PHOENIX. A paper slip attached to the back of the photograph reads ‘Migrants for Australia. Shown here in board the MARINE PHOENIX which sailed from San Francisco on May 18, 1948, are a group of ex-servicemen and their families coming to Australia under the Australian Government’s subsidized migration scheme. From Left to right they are: left: Loretta and George Hartnell. From Pennsylvania they are on their way to Melbourne, Victoria, the home town of Mrs. Hartnell a former war bride. Mr Hartnell intends to study under the G.I. Bill. At rear: Mr George W. Clark (29). From Union, Nebraska, he is on his way to Melbourne, Victoria to join his wife and children who are already there. He has a job to go to with General Motor in Melbourne. Right: Mr & Mrs Steinberg with their two children Bobby (2) and Karen (3). From New York, they are on their way to Brisbane, Qld. Mr Steinberg will also study under the G.I. Bill. Mrs Steinberg is also a former war bride.'HistorySince the first Fleet dropped anchor in 1788, more than 10 million people have moved from across the world to start a new life in Australia, arriving in waves, encouraged by the 1850s gold rushes or to escape adverse conditions at home in the social upheavals of C19th Britain's industrial revolution, the turmoil of revolution, two world wars, the aftermath of the Vietnam war in the 1970s and more recent conflicts. With the catchphrase 'populate or perish' ringing through the community, Australia stepped up its immigration in the years after WWII, offering assisted passage to British migrants, encouraging migration from European countries, and finally in the 1970s repealing the restrictive white Australia policy framed after federation in 1901. More than seven million new settlers have now crossed Australia's shores since 1945 and it's estimated that one in four of Australia's population was born overseas.SignificanceThis image is one of a series of photographs taken by Fairfax photographers that provides a unique window into how immigrants were viewed and immigration policy articulated in the popular press in Australia. They represent something of the personal face to Australia's massive post-war immigration push and show immigrants from many European nations, USA and China.