Lost Innocents Report
The Australian Senate Community Affairs Committee released its report relating to child migration schemes to Australia in the twentieth century, through which children from Britain and Malta were transported without their or their families' consent to Australian institutions.
Instigated by Australian Senator Andrew Murray, himself a former child migrant forcibly removed from Britain to Zimbabwe, in response to "a number of calls from different groups and individuals for an independent national inquiry into child migration to Australia" (section 1.12, Lost Innocents Report). In particular the International Association of Former CHild Migrants and their Families had advocated effectively for the inquiry (Section 1.12).
Oranges and Sunshine
Oranges and Sunshine is a British film about by Director Jim Loach about child migrant schemes by which children were removed to forcibly migrate to Australian institutions in the twentieth century.
Find & Connect Support Services
The Commonwealth Department of Social Services (DSS) directly funds organisations in each State and Territory to provide ‘specialist trauma informed counselling, referral services, peer support, education and social support programs’ for people who had been in out-of-home Care before 1990. It also funds the ‘Find and Connect’ web resource that provides detailed and up-to-date information about historical organisations and facilities around Australia, and three ‘Find and Connect Representative Organisations’ whose role is to ‘present consolidated views and advice’ to the Government and the broader community sector. The overall program is funded until 30 June 2026.
You Can't Forget Things Like That
The National Library of Australia conducted hundreds of oral history interviews with former Child Migrants and people who had grown up in institutions and foster care, following recommendations in the “Lost Innocents” (2001) and “Forgotten Australians” (2004) reports. The “You Can’t Forget Things Like That” booklet consolidates many of these oral histories, including background information and instructions on how to access them.
Forgotten Australians Report
Following years of advocacy, research and testimony, the Australian Senate Community Affairs References Committee published ‘Forgotten Australians: A report on Australians who experienced institutional or out-of-home care as children’. It contains 39 recommendations based on a comprehensive outline of the historical and ongoing experiences of ‘upwards of… 500,000’ people (page xv), hundreds of whom provided direct personal testimony to the Committee.
Salvation Army Apology
The Salvation Army’s World Leader issued a public apology “to men and women who were children in the care of The Salvation Army in years past” who “suffered abuse and deprivation” as children while in the care of The Salvation Army in Australia. The apology was instigated by Care Leaver Jim Luthy, who wrote to the Salvation Army headquarters in London and led a campaign with the Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN).
"Took the Children Away"
Archie Roach’s classic album “Charcoal Lane” was a breakout hit, bringing his distinctive storytelling about experiences of child removal to a mainstream audience. Its centrepiece, “Took the Children Away,” was not the first song about the Stolen Generations, but it possibly had the biggest impact, making Archie Roach a household name. He won two ARIA Awards in 1991 – for Best New Talent, and Best Indigenous Release, and “Took the Children Away” was nominated for Best Breakthrough Single. “Took the Children Away” also won an International Human Rights Achievement Award.
"My Brown Skin Baby"
Bob Randall’s song “My Brown Skin Baby” has been described as “the first anthem of the Stolen Generations”. “Tjilpi” Bob Randall was a Yankunytjatjara musician, writer and leader. Aged seven he was removed from his mother and taken to Alice Springs and then Arnhem Land, far from his home. The song, which was based on his own family’s experiences, came to popular attention through the ABC’s documentary series Chequerboard, when it was featured in an episode called “My Brown Skin Baby, They Take ‘im Away.”
Women of the Sun
Women of the Sun is a four-part drama series that was aired on SBS, telling stories from Australian history from Aboriginal perspectives. In Episode 2, set in 1895, children are removed from their home by the Protector of Aborigines, separated from each other and sent to an institutional children’s home. It was one of the first dramatisations of what would come to be known as the Stolen Generations.
Link-Up Diary
This documentary film, directed by David McDougall and funded by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (later known as AIATSIS), follows the work of Link-Up in NSW as they reunited a family that had been separated. It tells the stories of Coral Edwards and Peter Read. It was the third in a trilogy of documentary features, following It's a Long Road Back (1981) and Lousy Little Sixpence (1983).