In the years following World War II, a popular immigration slogan was 'the child, the best immigrant'. Children constituted a particularly attractive category of migrant because they were seen to assimilate more easily, were more adaptable, had a long working life ahead and could be cheaply housed in dormitory style accommodation.
Between 1947 and 1953 over 3200 children migrated to Australia under approved schemes. About 100 of them were Maltese while the remainder came from the United Kingdom. Other European countries were asked if they would like to participate in the child migration scheme but declined.
Over 30 homes were approved by the Commonwealth for the housing of child migrants. Most of these were run by voluntary and religious organisations. It was not government policy to provide homes specifically for migrant children; however, the government did contribute towards the capital expenditure incurred by these organisations in setting up suitable homes. Both the Commonwealth and State governments contributed towards running costs. The governments of the United Kingdom and Malta also paid maintenance for their children who had emigrated to approved institutions in Australia.
As the role of the Commonwealth government was mainly that of an overseer (the programs being administered by the States), most of the records held by the Archives are general policy files. Some series of child migrant case files are held by a number of our offices. You should contact the office where the records are held to inquire if there is a record on a specific individual. See Fact Sheet 1– Addresses and hours of opening for contact details.
 | Maltese migrant selection documents* | 1948–61 | B3985 | ||
| British migrant selection documents* | 1947–61 | B3986 | ||
| British under-age migrant selection documents | 1947–63 | B4061 | ||
| Child migration selection documents – British children | 1947–59 | PP93/10 | ||
| Child migration selection documents – Maltese children | 1947–59 | PP93/11 | ||
+ Please ask for assistance to locate records on individual child migrants within these series.
* You need to know the name of the ship the child travelled on and the date of arrival to identify records on specific children in these series.
General and policy files on child migration occasionally include names of individual child migrants and/or their custodians. Some of these items are listed below. Further keyword searching on the names of the schemes or approved homes (eg Fairbridge, Big Brother, Dr Barnardo's, Castledare) can identify additional relevant files which may contain names of individuals.
 | Dreadnought boys – NSW | 1921–45 | A461, G349/1/7 | ||
| Immigration – Barnardo Boys | 1921–44 | A461, H349/1/7 | ||
| Barnardo's homes – NSW nominations | 1936–39 | A436, 1946/5/7 | ||
| Big Brother movement, New South Wales nominations | 1938–42 | A659, 1942/1/3374 | ||
| Overseas Childrens' Scheme – Tasmania | 1940 | A659, 1940/1/6451 | ||
| Overseas Childrens' Scheme – Queensland | 1940 | A659, 1940/1/6453 | ||
| Overseas Childrens' Scheme – Western Australia | 1940–43 | A659, 1943/1/4132 | ||
| Overseas Childrens' Scheme – NSW – part I | 1940–44 | A659, 1944/1/355 | ||
| Overseas Childrens' Scheme – Queensland – part I | 1940–44 | A659, 1944/1/1134 | ||
| Overseas children – letters from | 1943–46 | A659, 1946/1/782 | ||
| Overseas Childrens' Scheme – Queensland – part II | 1944–45 | A659, 1944/1/3895 | ||
| Overseas children – Discharges from scheme and return to England | 1945–46 | A436, 1946/5/210 | ||
| Admissions to Australia of British and refugee children – policy | 1945–47 | A461, Q349/1/7 | ||
| St Joseph's Orphanage and St Vincent's Foundling Home, Leederville, WA | 1948–51 | A445, 133/2/40 | ||
The research guide Good British Stock: Child and Youth Migration to Australia by Barry Coldrey also contains valuable information about holdings on child migration.
See also Fact Sheet 147 – Child migrant records held in Sydney; for information about records held in Sydney.
You can obtain more information about the record series listed above (and the items within the series) from RecordSearch, the Archives database. Follow the links in the series lists to go directly to information on that series. You can also use RecordSearch to find out about the agencies that created the records and to locate more records on your subject. You might also explore PhotoSearch to find out if there are photos pertaining to your subject.
RecordSearch and PhotoSearch are available online or in all Archives reading rooms. Reference staff are available in the reading rooms to help you, or email ref@naa.gov.a
Child migration schemes were administered by State governments, therefore there may be relevant records (particularly case files created by the State welfare departments) in the various State government archives. Information about these holdings are included in Child Migrants: Accessing records held by Commonwealth and State Archives on the website of the Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities
Many of the organisations which arranged for children to migrate to Australia (eg the Christian Brothers, Dr Barnardo's) as well as the homes which accepted them (eg St Joseph's, Castledare) also hold relevant records. Several of the homes have registers of all the children who stayed in them. You should contact the relevant organisation (which may have offices both in the United Kingdom and in Australia) or home to inquire whether they hold records on a specific individual.
The Child Migrants Trust can also assist you to trace the background and families of children who came to Australia as unaccompanied child migrants. The Trust can be contacted at:
228 Canning Street
North Carlton VIC 3034
Tel: (03) 9347 7403
In 1999 the Western Australian Government launched the Former Child Migrants Referral Index which includes the identification and arrival details for the 2 950 child migrants who arrived in Western Australia between 1913 and 1968. The database also indicates where records relating to each child migrant are held. Direct inquiries to the WA Family Information Records Bureau by telephone on 1800 000 277.
Comments or other feedback can be sent to archives@naa.gov.au
updated May 2005