Gramelis family aboard the ELLINIS
Date1964
Object numberANMS1453[142]
NamePhotograph
Mediumphotographic print on paper
DimensionsOverall: 204 × 306 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection
DescriptionBlack and white image of Mrs Gramelis with her six children on the deck of the ELLINIS on arriving in Sydney from Greece.
A newspaper article attached to the back of the photograph reads 'The RHMS ELLINIS arrived on its maiden voyage today. Formerly called the LURLINE, the ship is 18,500 gross tons, 640 feet long and 80 feet wide. Pic shows: Mrs Peter Gramelis came from Greece with her six children to be re-united with her husband who has been in Australia for 2 years. They will live in Redfern. L-R: Aphrodite 13 – Janalene 3 – Stanley 10 – Agarvi 8 – Athenia 12 – Maria 5 and Mrs Gramelis. This was the largest family aboard.’
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.