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Mink stole
Mink stole

Mink stole

Date1940-1949
Object number00040547
NameStole
MediumMink, silk, metal
DimensionsDisplay dimensions: 730 x 790 mm
ClassificationsClothing and personal items
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Liisa Cotterill
DescriptionThis mink stole was refashioned from a long fur coat belonging to Leida Lehepuu. Leida and her family migrated from Estonia to Australia on SVALBARD in 1948, having fled increasing Soviet persecution in Estonia following the 1939 Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact.HistoryBetween 1940 and 1950, approximately one in five Estonians were deported or forced to flee as a direct result of Nazi and Soviet occupation, and their subsequent military campaigns. The Lehepuu family were part of this mass exodus from Estonia, one of the Baltic states. After World War II the Australian Government actively recruited 'Beautiful Balts' in their push to populate the country while maintaining a white Australia. This collection was donated by Liisa Cotterill, who was born in a Displaced Persons camp in Germany and migrated to Australia in 1948 on SVALBARD with her parents Ilmari and Leida Lehepuu. Upon arrival in Australia, the Lehepuu's were placed in the Bathurst Migrant Camp for displaced persons. Their journey mirrored the experience of hundreds of thousands of post-World War II European migrants - one which not only changed their lives but also had a profound effect on Australian society. SVALBARD, originally named TOGO, was commissioned by the German Woermann Line and launched on 13 August 1938. TOGO was built as a cargo ship before being refitted in 1941 as a commerce raider. It served as a night fighter direction ship in Baltic waters until the end of World War II. After being seized by the British in 1945 as a war prize, the vessel was given to the Norwegian Government in 1946. It was renamed SVALBARD and converted to carry 900 displaced persons. On 20 September 1948 SVALBARD undertook its first voyage transporting displaced persons, from Bremerhaven to Fremantle and then Sydney. SVALBARD undertook three more of these voyages in 1949 before being passed into the Norwegian Navy in 1954.SignificanceThe Lehepuu collection helps to document the experience of thousands of Estonians displaced by upheavals in their country between 1940-1950.