by Cath on 10 August, 2010
A national service is being set up to support Forgotten Australians and former Child Migrants to trace their histories and, hopefully, reunite with family members. In the first phase, a scoping study is under way to identify an effective model for the service. As part of that, people who spent time in children’s homes have been involved in a series of interviews, focus, groups and/or surveys. To learn more about the service or to find out how to have your say, download information:
- about the scoping study (PDF 126kb)
- about the focus groups and survey (PDF 25kb)
I am having my say, in the early 1960’s my younger brother and I were put in St.Vincents Orphanage Brisbane (me first at age 2 &1/2, while my mother it seems was due to give birth to him). We were the last 2 children of 6. Our older siblings apparently spent time there as well I have come to understand.
Our father had a brain tumour so the story goes, you see I have spent my life trying to find the truths. He had it operated on and then told there was nothing they could do,
so it seems he drank himself to death after losing his children from having no job, His lovely family only labeled him as an alcoholic which in turn only makes me prouder than I already am. My mother supposedly had schizophrenia so society said.!!!! and she spent the majority of her years in Wolston Park. I met her once in my thirties before she passed away and my husband and I found her very sad but fine. I do have the consolation of knowing that she harrassed the welfare to find us this keeps me sane in the knowledge that she did love and wanted her children, but we were all kept from her by my fathers lovely and charming family who I want nothing to do with as you see the 4 older children were brought up by my fathers relatives. And my younger brother and I
after a number of years were fostered into seperate families. The family can’t accept us
as we are we feel like we’re never good enough so we choose to cut ties with them as
we feel stabbed in the back. We would like to know about our Mothers side, but I start to wonder WHY? Pride is the opposite of Shame. I wonder when I will ever truly feel it.
All I ever wanted was to be found and all I do is do the searching. All I find is lies and
coverups, I have no respect for the people of adults of that Australian generation.