Silent System: Forgotten Australians and the Institutionalisation of Women and Children

by Paul Ashton, Jacqueline Z. Wilson

During the twentieth century in Australia more than half-a-million children grew up in 'out-of-home' care in over 800 institutions, including children's homes, foster homes, industrial schools and orphanages. A regime of mass institutionalisation was sanctioned by legislation and administered by either the state or by non-government bodies such as churches and welfare groups. Around 7,000 children were child migrants from Britain, Ireland and Malta; up to 50,000 were Indigenous 'Stolen' children and more than 450,000 were non-Indigenous children.

The contributions to this groundbreaking book constitute an eclectic mix of scholarship drawn from a diverse group of historians, social scientists, artists, performers, freelance writers and stakeholders, including former state wards and Forgotten Australians. It demonstrates the breadth and depth of history and memory work that is taking place on and around places of incarceration and confinement in Australia.

226 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Jaq · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the forgotten Australians, those not deemed worthy of remembering in the mainstream historical circles.

The fact that it is only now in 2014 that a group has gotten together and written this book and given some voice to those whose stories make up Australia, is amazing. I was stunned and humbled at how little I knew of what had happened and these pages go a small way to addressing the significant wrong that has been done to those whose stories must be told, and should be told.

This is a book that is relevant for both student, scholar, and anyone who deals with the retention of information, because if these stories are not captured now, we will not learn from them.