Robert Stephens to his mummy and daddy, November 1952
Date1952
Object number00054488
NameLetter
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 176 × 277 mm
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Gift from Robert Stephens
DescriptionThis letter was written by Robert Stephens soon after his arrival in Australia as an unaccompanied child migrant with the Fairbridge scheme, he was nine at the time. The letter has messages both to his mother and the man he thought was his father, they resided at 7 Rye Hill Park, Peckham, in south London with Robert's sister Margaret. The person who was responsible for Robert's welfare at the Fairbridge Farm School in Molong has included a note to Mrs Stephens.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 letter provides a highly personal insight into the experiences of nine-year-old British child migrant Robert Stephens. It speaks volumes about Robert's enduring attachment to England and the difficulties of leaving his family as an unaccompanied child migrant.
