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Danchenko family on board the ANKING

Publisher Fairfax Publications, Sydney Morning Herald

Date1964

Object numberANMS1453[156]

NamePhotograph

Mediumphotographic print on paper

DimensionsOverall: 304 × 215 mm

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection

Terms

DescriptionBlack and white image of Maria and Nicolai Danchenko and their seven children on the deck of the ANKING on its arrival in Sydney from China. A newspaper clipping attached to the back of the photograph reads ‘This family of White Russian refugees from Sinkiang in communist China arrived in Sydney yesterday on their way to settle in Melbourne. They are: Mrs Maria Danchenko, holding her 12-months-old son Daniel; Mr Nicolai Danchenko with Viniamin, 3; and (from left): Nadia, 12, Luba, 7, Nicolai, 5, Walintina, 13, and Antoneda, 11. They were in a group of 46 White Russians from Sinkiang who arrived in the liner ANKING, sponsored as migrants by the Australian Council of Churches.’ 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.