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Image Not Available for Lynne and Jane Saunders
Lynne and Jane Saunders
Image Not Available for Lynne and Jane Saunders

Lynne and Jane Saunders

Publisher
Date1964
Object numberANMS1453[148]
NamePhotograph
Mediumphotographic print on paper
DimensionsOverall: 304 × 213 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection
DescriptionBlack and white image of Lynne and Jane Saunders who had arrived in Sydney from California on board MONTEREY. Newspaper clipping attached to the back of the photograph reads ‘Young American couple want their first child to be born in Australia because they have been told it is “a better place to bring up a kid”. The couple are Lynne and Jane Saunders of Claremont, California, who arrived in Sydney this week in the liner MONTEREY. They came with Lynne’s parents, Mr and Mrs F. Saunders. “We came lock, stock and barrel” said Mr Saunders, Sen. “So you can say our stay will be kind of permanent.” Lynne Saunders said the fifth member of the family was expected in February. “Just imagine” said Jane “my baby a little foreigner”. The Saunders also appear in image ANMS1453[149].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 produced by Fairfax newspapers that provides a unique window into how immigrants were viewed and immigration policy articulated in the popular press. The images in this selection are significant in representing the personal face to Australia's massive post-war immigration push that saw aggressive immigration programs orchestrated by the Australian Government that was promoting a 'populate or perish' philosophy.