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All Newsletters : March 1999 : "Finding" the Pieces -- of our past

New Service Helps Track Background Information
"Finding" the Pieces -- of our past

Former Child Migrants who originally settled in Western Australia will now be able to track down personal information on their past with minimum effort, thanks to a new computerised information service.


The Personal History Index known as PHIND (or perhaps, more appropriately pronunced 'FIND') has been developed as a service to former child migrants by Dr Debra Rosser, who is a member of the C-BERSS Management Committee.



It's taken 18 months for Dr Rosser and her project team to match up each of the more than 1,000 former child migrants with the records held by at least six separate Catholic and Government agencies.






Keith Spencer (Secretary/Treasurer of the Child Migrant Foundation at the launch of PHIND with Coordinator of the PHIND Project and C-BERSS Management Committee Member, Dr Debra Rosser.



Individual names have been checked against each of the soures to produce a simple guide on where information is located on children who were sent to Catholic institutions in Western Australia over approximately 30 years (from 1938 to 1965) as part of the Child Migration Scheme.



After all the checking and cross-checking, the Personal History Index now provides a one-stop shop for former child migrants wanting to find out where the records relating to their past may be held.



Once the person's identity has been confirmed, and subject to protection of confidentiality, a simple data entry on the computer will provide instant information in four key areas. These four areas cover:




1. Personal Details

...including dates and places of birth and parents' names, if they are known.



2. Migration Details

Information about:

migration dates and the age of the child migrant at the time of departure

shipping details

name and location of the religious order which authorised the migration from the country of origin as well as the religious order which took responsibility for the children on arrival in Western Australia



3. Residences in WA

Details about places of residence in WA, including the initial destination and transfers between homes or schools.



4. Location of Records

Including the location of:

birth certificates and/or baptismal certificates

educational records

childhood photos

migration records (which may provide information not only about a person's family or social background, but also indicate whether the Catholic records are held in the country of origin)

Records describing the person's medical or social history (but not including their hospital records)



PHIND has been sponsored by the religious orders that received children from the United Kingdom and Malta, in particular:


the Congregation of Christian Brothers

the Poor Sisters of Nazareth

the Sisters of Mercy





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