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Fated to be Orphans: The Consequences of Australia's Post-War Resettlement Policy on Refugee Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 July 2016

Karen Agutter
Karen Agutter*
Affiliation:
Department of History, University of Adelaide, South Australia
*
address for correspondence: Karen Agutter, Department of History, Napier Building, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, South Australia. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Between 1947 and 1953, Australia received over 170,000 Displaced People from Europe including widows and unmarried mothers. These refugees were expected to conform to the policies and expectations of the State, in particular the adherence to a 2-year work contract. This was an impossibility for many mothers who could not find work or accommodation outside of the government supplied migrant accommodation centres, and who, as a consequence, resorted to placing their children, either temporarily or permanently, in institutions or for adoption. Through an examination of archival documents, this paper examines the policies that resulted in migrant child placement and adoption and considers the role played by Department of Immigration social workers. It asks why, when migrant children were considered amongst the most desirable of new arrivals, were many fated to become orphans?

Keywords

displaced personsmigrant childrenadoptionchild placementmigrant hostels
Type
Articles
Information
Children Australia , Volume 41 , Special Issue 3: CARING FOR CHILDREN OUTSIDE THE HOME – FROM INSTITUTIONS TO NATIONS , September 2016 , pp. 224 - 231
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

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