Fact sheet 124 – Child migration to Australia
Encouragement for child migration
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.
Personal documents of child migrants
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.
