Stanton family departing the ORONTES
Date25 September 1961
Object numberANMS1453[154]
NamePhotograph
Mediumphotographic print on paper
DimensionsOverall: 226 × 304 mm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection
DescriptionBlack and white image of Anne and Patrick Stanton walking down the gangway of the ORONTES with their daughters on its arrival into Pyrmont from South Africa.
A paper slip attached to the back of the photograph reads ‘Lipman…story Henderson...South African families “invade” Sydney in mass migration. 609 South Africans embarked on the liner ORONTES at Capetown and Durban to migrate to Australia and New Zealand. 393 of this number disembarked at Sydney today when the ORONTES berthed at Pyrmont. Here, one of the many Sth African families migrating to Sydney, Mr Patrick Stanton a tool and die maker of Johannesburg carries his daughters Avril, 5 years (left) and Vannicia (3 years) down the gangway into a new country and a new life…followed by his wife Mrs Anne Stanton…They will live in Sydney.’
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.
A paper slip attached to the back of the photograph reads:
‘Lipman…story Henderson...South African families “invade” Sydney in mass migration. 609 South Africans embarked on the liner ORONTES at Capetown and Durban to migrate to Australia and New Zealand. 393 of this number disembarked at Sydney today when the ORONTES berthed at Pyrmont. See story Henderson for details. Here, one of the many Sth African families migrating to Sydney, Mr Patrick Stanton a tool and die maker of Johannesburg carries his daughters Avril, 5 years (left) and Vannicia (3 years) down the gangway into a new country and a new life…followed by his wife Mrs Anne Stanton…They will live in Sydney.’
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.
