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Lunn family aboard the FAIRSEA

Publisher Fairfax Publications, Sydney Morning Herald

DateOctober 1968

Object numberANMS1453[137]

NamePhotograph

Mediumphotographic print on paper

DimensionsOverall: 216 × 168 mm

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection

Terms

DescriptionBlack and white image of Mr and Mrs Joseph Lunn with their three sons standing next to the railing of the FAIRSEA on its arrival in Fremantle. HistoryA newspaper clipping attached to the back of the photograph reads ‘Here for a ‘Captain Cook – for 50 Plus’. English migrant Joseph Lunn (31), from Leeds, who reached Fremantle in the FAIRSEA today with his wife and three sons, thinks he is in the Captain Cook category. “Captain Cook never experienced a pioneering task as big as mine” he said “I’ve been sent by my family of more than 50 to find out and let them know what Australia is all about”. “They said they would follow me if I did well”. Mr Lunn is the youngest of nine children of a coal miner who for 40 years ever ventured more than 20 miles from home. Even today his parents have still to break the 300-mile barrier. The elder Lunns, in addition to nine children, have 34 grandchildren, 18 great-grand-children and two great-great grandchildren. “Our family is closely knit. We lived within eight miles of each other in Leeds” said Mr Lunn. “My father, who is 75, is still working as a watchman and my 73-year-old mother is working as a cook.” ‘British migrants’ handwritten on the back of the photograph. 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.