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Image Not Available for Cooke family migrates from England to Australia
Cooke family migrates from England to Australia
Image Not Available for Cooke family migrates from England to Australia

Cooke family migrates from England to Australia

Publisher
Date1969
Object numberANMS1453[153]
NamePhotograph
Mediumphotographic print on paper
DimensionsOverall: 228 × 304 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection
DescriptionBlack and white image of Mr and Mrs Ronald Cooke and their ten children posing on the covered deck of a ship on their arrival in Sydney from England. A newspaper clipping attached to the back of the photograph reads ‘An English migrant couple arrived in Sydney yesterday on their way to Brisbane, where they are taking their 10 children “to grow up in the sun”. Mr Ronald Cooke, 42, butcher from Redhill, Surrey, chose Australia as the place to live after a round-the world trip two and a half years ago. “I only spend four and a half days in Sydney and had a quick look at Melbourne, Perth and Canberra but it was long enough to convince me that the family would like it here” he said. Picture shows (from left) Margaret, 16, Bill, 15, Carol, 14, Eileen, 12, Helen, 10, Stephen, 9, Wendy 8, Karen 5. At rear from left: Bob, 18, Mr Cooke, Mrs Cooke and Roald, 2 (in mother’s arms).’ 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 something of 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.