Teenage and child immigrants from Great Britain brought out by the Big Brother Movement on the P & O Liner , 10 October 1963, courtesy of National Library of Australia, John Mulligan photograph collection, ca. 1960-1976.
DETAILS
The first group of more than 200 'little brothers' sailed from England on the Jervis Bay, arriving in Melbourne, via Fremantle, on 14 December 1925. By 1927 over 300 'Little Brothers' had arrived in New South Wales. Over the coming decades, more than 12,000 young people arrived under this scheme.
The Big Brother Movement, based in Sydney, is now known as Big Brother Movement Ltd Youth Support and welcomes contact from former 'Little Brothers.' Its website has a forum for Little Brothers which includes details of reunions.
Between 925 and 1929 almost 2,000 young males arrived in Australia with the Big Brother Movement. Boys were recruited by Linton and his associates from London. Historian Geoffrey Sherington has described how the scheme began:
'All potential Little Brothers were required to produce a formal school leaving certificate, credentials from their school and references from such organisations as the Public Schools' Association, the English Speaking Union, the Navy League and the Young Men's Christian Association, or the churches. Each young immigrant had to sign an agreement binding him to accept the instructions of his Big Brother and not to leave any employment without his permission. He was to work hard, not drink or gamble, 'avoid bad company', write to his parents once a month and visit church occasionally. He was also required to open a bank account and try to save a regular sum each week.'
Migrants who arrived in Victoria often came from English 'public' (elite) schools, which was considered a positive, although not all the arrivals met the expectations of the Australian Big Brothers, either in terms of behaviour or education. Migrants to New South Wales were often recruited through the existing Dreadnought Trust, which did not have such exacting standards.
The 1931 Depression halted migration, and as few of the boys had a chance to establish themselves by then, many became unemployed and a fifth of the migrants returned home. Five ships sailed to Australia in 1939, but the outbreak of World War II forced the scheme to be deferred once more. The Victorian movement wound down and had transferred its resources to the Scouts by 1941 but the New South Wales scheme continued. Migration to New South Wales started again in 1947, with more than 12,000 boys and young men arriving in Australia until the sponsorship scheme stopped in 1983.
In the years before 1947 children who arrived with the Big Brother Movement were placed on farms, after receiving training at various government run training farms, including Scheyville, near Windsor. In April 1947 the Movement purchased a 600 acre property known as "Karmsley Hills" at Bossley Park near Liverpool New South Wales for £15,000 - the farm was dedicated as a memorial to the Little Brothers who had lost their lives in WW2. Between 1947 and 1971 nearly 4000 young British migrants passed through this establishment.
The organisation had been expanded in 1946 by the appointment of three district superintendents whose task it was to secure honorary welfare officers in country areas, find suitable positions for the boys and to visit them at their jobs, to raise funds and generally promote the movement. One was Mr Frank Mansell, appointed secretary in 1947 and an occasional Board member until 1994. Mr Bob Ross of Cooma was a district superintendent who secured considerable financial support and goodwill for the movement.
By the late 1950s city work was becoming more common for boys than farming. The average age of arrivals, up to the 1960s, was 16 years. Later arrivals tended to be up to 20 years old.
In 1983 the sponsorship scheme terminated and the farm was sold and the funds invested. These funds allowed the Big Brother Movement to initiate youth support programmes, provide agricultural college scholarships, help homeless children and contribute to youth and child charities.. The Big Brother Movement also runs an awards scheme to help young Australians funds to visit the UK and enhance their careers.
Last updated:
18 May 2015
Cite this: http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/nsw/NE00505
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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