Table Of Contents

• Child Migrant - British Enquiry
• It's Never Too Late To Learn
• Focus on Castledare
• Memories ... Eric Hood
• Memories ... Brendan McCloat

 

Child Migrant - British Enquiry In November 1997, the House of Commons Select Committee on Health announced that it was to hold an enquiry into the Welfare of Former Child Migrants. The intention of the Enquiry is to focus on the future and "what might done now to improve the welfare of former child migrants". The Terms of Reference for the Enquiry are: "that the Committee should enquire into issues relating to the welfare of former child migrants (that is, those children, now adult, who were transported to Commonwealth countries under the schemes once operated by certain UK voluntary organisations), and to addess what the role of the British Government and others should be in seeking to assist former child migrants to come to terms with their childhood experience and establish contact with their surviving relations in the UK." CBERS made a submission to the Enquiry and has now been invited to appear before the Committee on 24th June when the members of the Committee come to Perth to take oral submissions. CBERS goes to the Committee hearing having worked to develop services with, and for, the men and their families over the last three years. We will be armed with the wisdom that comes from putting together the stories and the voices of many former child migrants and their kin. Our goal is to put some proposals to the Committee about how we can all work better to give the help that will be required in the future. We will share these thoughts with you in the next newsletter.

 

 

 

The Three R's ... It's Never Too Late To Learn A group of ex-residents has discovered that it's not so hard to "teach an old dog new tricks" after all! For the past 18 months they've been back in the classroom (for one night a week) brushing up on skills they didn't quite get the hang of in their old school days. Adult Education Classes are one of the services provided by CBERS to help ex-residents overcome disadvantages they may have experienced from their past. The small group classes are conducted by a professional tutor and designed for anyone who finds reading, writing, and spelling a challenge. From the reports we get back, the classes are not only educational, but great fun as well. Last month, CBERS combined forces with Northsyde Skillshare to host a joint graduation ceremony for the latest graduates. CBERS staff and Management Committee attended the ceremony at which adult education students were presented with their certificates and read from their book of writings. If you'd like to take advantage of the opportunity to improve your literacy skills, contact us for more information on future classes. You'll be amazed at how much your skills in reading, writing, and spelling can improve!

 

 

 

Focus on Castledare It's 60 years since, in 1938, Castledare took its first intake of 11 young child migrants from Britain. Another 31 boys arrived the following year. The war came and the ships that had brought young migrants from halfway across the world no longer docked in Fremantle Harbour. It would be another eight years before, in 1947, the child migration scheme resumed. In August of that year, the Asturias brought 150 migrant children to Western Australia - 28 of them went to Castledare. Another five years passed before, in 1952, Eric Hood (who was only seven years old at the time) set off on his long journey to foreign shores and a new home in Australia called Castledare. Another five years on and by 1957 the practice of child migration was being phased out. Brendan McCloat had arrived in January of the same year on board the Strathnaver. He was nine years old at the time he and 13 other Irish boys from Belfast were assigned to their destination -- Castledare. By the time Brendan arrived, Eric had lived at Castledare for five years. He was now 12 -- three years Brendan's senior. There were 93 residents at Castledare in 1957 and about a quarter of them were child migrants. Both Eric and Brendan have largely positive memories of their time at Castledare as they share their stories with CBERS Counsellor, Valma Granich.

 

 

 

Memories ... Eric Hood Focus on Castledare It was in 1952 when Eric Hood arrived at Castledare ... the memories of a boy from the time he was seven tend to focus somewhat on the fun and games, the pranks, and the food - both that which tasted good and that which was sometimes not so good (finding weavils and maggots in the breakfast cereal fitting into the latter category). But where there's a will, there's a way for hungry growing boys - "We used to steal biscuits out of large potato sacks and turnips and suedes as well - which we ate raw! To pick oranges off the trees, we'd form a gymnastic-style human pyramid". Sometimes a large bag of walnuts would be put onto the oval and the boys would swoop on them as Eric recalls "like a pack of scavengers". To burn off the energy of the spoils of the scavenger hunts, Eric loved his sport. He enjoyed football, cricket, and handball, and "wasn't too bad at swimming". Walking along the path of the bordering river was a less exhuberant way of expressing youthful energy but nevertheless an activity which brought great joy. "We used to go on lovely walks along the river. There were no houses then ... just reeds. We walked regularly from Castledare to Clontarf. Often we went all the way to Acquinas". Indoors, Eric discovered a love of drama - and singing - and with a voice to do justice to his musical passion, he contributed to Castledare taking away the gold on more than one occasion at the annual Eistedfod competitions. The quest for "boys just wanting to have fun" found another outlet when it came to doing the chores. Floor polishing took on the proportions of a game as the boys gave each other slides (ostensibly to buff the red floor wax which has previously been applied) by pulling each other across on blankets from side of the floor to the other. Acknowledging the good times, Eric also admits to a difficult time or two -- and remembers the physical punishments administered in the class rooms -- to any child who made any mistake. It still puzzles him as to why the punishments were so severe -- "usually in the form of a strong clout or a punch under the ear for any type of mistake". But all in all, he considers himself to have been one of the lucky ones apart from anything else, because his family knew where he was and kept in touch. "I was lucky to get lovely gifts and food parcels from my mother. I felt sorry for those that didn't". He also had the opportunity to maintain personal contact with his sister Georgie who was living at St Joseph's. On field days Eric would not only be given money to spend but he could spend time with his sister who lived not too far away. Now, at age 53, Eric maintains a positive outlook on his life. His love of nature translates into a job (which he has held for the past 25 years) which takes him out into the bush at regular intervals. His love and sense of connection with his family or origin took him to England last year to meet up with his brother Charlie. Eric and his partner Wendy are now saving up to either help fund another trip to England, or to help Charlie to pay a visit to Western Australia in spring, "when the wildflowers are just phenomenal!".

 

 

 

Memories ... Brendan McCloat Focus on Castledare Nine years old in 1957, a young rebellious lad from Ireland, Brendan McClout remembers arriving at Castledare with 13 other Belfast boys to be required to put on an Aussie uniform of green shorts and a yellow T-shirt ... and to add insult to injury they were required to take regular showers. "We didn't like the idea of having a shower. We avoided it like the plague. They used to chase us to make us get into the showers. We soon learnt that is was much better to submit -- it made life much easier". And then there were the mosquitos - "they just loved us and they chewed us to pieces. When I scratched, I broke out into sores. Matron Kelly dabbed the bites (and the sores) with mercurichrome. She also dipped my thumb in iodine to stop me from sucking it". Perhaps it was the touch of the Blarney Stone in him, or whatever, but Brendan soon discovered a dramatic streak. He participated in Castledare plays (HMS Pinafore in 1957, and The Mikado in 1958). He also remembers playing a role in the opening of the chapel of the Mother of Perpetual Help where, as one of the alter boys to the Archbishop, due solemnity was called for. "The Church was big on liturgy and pomp in those days. Assisting the Archbishop was serious business". As he tells the story of his time at Castledare, according to Brendan it was mostly sunshine but there were also some of what he describes as "rainy days" too. For example, Brendan talks of his humiliation when one day in class an Irish boy was asked to answer a question. He got the answer wrong. "All the Irish boys in the class were told to stand up while the Brother wrote on the board The only good Irishman is a dead Irishman. The sentence stayed on the blackboard for months because we were all too frightened to rub it off". But the sun breaks through again, as Brendan (now aged 50) confesses to having reflected that one day he might retire to the place which was his first port of call in Australia - Castledare. It was a half-fledged dream which he has now had to let go of (with a touch of sadness) as the buildings have been demolished and the site is to take on a new role as an Aged Care facility and public recreation area. In the meantime, Brendan is building more immediate plans of his own. In September he'll be heading off to Europe for an eight week stay where he plans to visit not only his family, but also to explore the wonders of Italy, Germany, Holland, and maybe even Brussels.

 

 

 

C-BERS Services is an independent agency, set up in 1995 to provide a broad range of services which may benefit men who previously lived at child-care institutions run by the Christian Brothers of Western Australia. Open weekdays between 8.30am and 4.30pm. Email welcome@cberss.org Web cberss.org Freecall 1800 621 805 Phone +61 [08] 9381 5422 Fax +61 [08] 9382 4114 Address 12 Alvan St, Subiaco WA 6008 Australia Post to PO Box 1172, Subiaco WA 6904, Australia

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This newsletter was created by Chris Nicholson [me@chrisnicholson.org] for C-BERSS [cberss.org]

 

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