Janice Konstantinidis was an inmate in Mount Saint Canice, Sandy Bay, Tasmania, where she worked as an unpaid child labourer in the Good Shepherd Sisters’ commercial laundry. Janice now lives in California in USA. Here she shares her writing about her paternal grandmother.
Tag: Tasmania
My Life Inside a Children’s Home
Former Child Migrant Rupert Hewison shares his personal history, from his time at St. Faith's Home in Surry, UK to his being sent to Fairbridge House ‘Tresca’ in Tasmania.
Summer’s Cloud
Janice Konstantinidis was an inmate in Mount Saint Canice, Sandy Bay, Tasmania, where she worked as an unpaid child labourer in the Good Shepherd Sisters' commercial laundry. Janice now lives in California in USA. Here, she shares one of her recent poems.
R U OK?
Should every day be an R U OK Day? R U OK? is a non-profit Australian organisation which aims to provide a national focus and leadership on suicide prevention.
No more silent tears #2
Leigh Westin, who grew up in Scarba House and Parramatta Girls Home, is sewing a memorial entitled "No More Silent Tears for Forgotten Australians". The memorial is comprised of a large panel of handkerchiefs each decorated by those who spent time in a Children's Home or institution.
Visitors
A letter from the mother of former Child Migrant Rupert Hewison outlines her 'terrible shock' at moving to Tasmania to be closer to her son, only to find her visits limited to once a month. The Senate Report on Forgotten Australians (2004) noted that visits from family members were 'keenly anticipated' but 'highly regulated in many institutions'.
From the eyes of an eight year old
Rupert Hewison a former Child Migrant from Britain shares the photographs he took as an eight year old at Fairbridge House, Tresca, in Tasmania.
Summer
At the age of twelve, Janice was taken by her grandparents and father to Mount Saint Canice, one of the Magdalene Laundries. The laundry was run by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Hobart, Tasmania. Now Janice lives in California, USA, where she enjoys writing and tending her beautiful garden. Here she shares one of her recent poems.
Return to Mount Saint Canice
In January 2010, Janice Konstantinidis returned to her former Home, Mount Saint Canice, Sandy Bay, Tasmania to witness its redevelopment into luxury apartments.
Life in “The Mag”
Janice Konstantinidis, shares a current photograph, as well as her detailed history of her time from the age of 12 working in the laundry of Mount Saint Canice, Tasmania, one of the Magdalena laundries, nicknamed "The Mag". Janice also includes recollections of the lengths some girls would go to in order to escape.
