The Forgotten Children

by David Hill

Rare book

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Book Club, Australia, Historical, Biography

368 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

During his remarkable career, David Hill has been chairman then managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation; chairman of the Australian Football Association; chief executive and director of the State Rail Authority; chairman of Sydney Water Corporation; a fellow of the Sydney University Senate; and chairman of CREATE (an organisation representing Australian children in institutional care).
He has held a number of other executive appointments and committee chair positions in the areas of sport, transport, international radio broadcasting, international news providers, politics, fiscal management and city parks.
David came from England to Australia in 1959 under the Fairbridge Farm School Child Migrant scheme. He left school at 15, then returned to complete his Master's degree in economics while working as an economics tutor at Sydney University.

Reviews

[Cathryn King · Rating 5 out of 5]

My father in law is one of the Fairbridge Boys that came out from England at the same time as the author, and is in the book a number of times. He has trouble talking about his time at the Fairbridge Farm, and this book has explained a lot about why.

I don't know that I can say I 'enjoyed' reading it, but I'm glad I did.

[Saumya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't ENJOY reading it, but glad I did. Glad i read a part of the history that was ignored for a long time. Wonder how anyone can played with so many young children's lives that way.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received through Box of Stories.

Hill recounts his own experience, but admits that as he was older when he arrived and there for only 3 years, he suffered less than many in comparison. Hill uses accounts and anecdotes from plenty of other Fairbridge children- with wide range of ages/ dates of attendance. These show the variety of experience at Molong- some remember staff in different lights- whilst also corroborating and fleshing out the abuse and neglect they suffered. These incredibly sad stories are recounted in a stoic manner- not emotional, but instead rather matter of fact.

Before receiving this book I didn’t know of the existence of ‘child migrants’, and am shocked at how many different ‘schools’ there were across the world.

A very factual book, which includes plenty of excerpts from official reports to reinforce the personal experiences.

As always, I am surprised (but not surprised) at the corruption at management levels! With so many official reports and visits to Molong in which the horrible environment was noted as needing substantial changes, it’s amazing that the Fairbridge society were able to cover this up and continue for as long as they did- and that they still will not admit any wrongdoing or provide any support to the children.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am an Australian and thought I knew much of my own country's history but alas, I did not! Reading this book was an eye-opener. I knew of Bernado homes but not of any others. I had known children were sent to Canada as child labour but not known of Australia using children in the same way.

David Hill himself a child sent from England to Australia with his twin brother and older brother. The stories he had not known about whilst in Fairbridge Farm School shocked him. His delving into the past traumas of so many other children, now adults makes riveting reading. How sad for many they had to endure such hardship and lies.

A little repetitive in some chapters, but that is ok. Sometimes droll with the factual information, but still pertinent to the story. Very informative book.

[Allegra S · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a really interesting part of Australian history I hadn't heard much about. However, it did tend to drag and repeat itself several times. I think it would have had more power as a fictionalized recount of his experience rather than a set of essays, or if it had been organized chronologically. It was strange to hear that some children loved this school and are outraged at the publication of this book.

[June Centonze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story of courage, love, commitment, and family ties. A grandmother's search to find her grandchildren across the world. Highly recommend.

[Marion Roux · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Fairbridge Farm School Scheme was founded in 1885 by Kingsley Fairbridge, a South African. The idea of rescuing childre from destitution etc, was honourable/noble, but the execution of this plan for innocent little people, in practice, was abysmal and cruel. Australia, Canada, Rhodesia, South Africa - hang your collective heads in shame. I am glad I have read this account, but cannot say I enjoyed it. The tone of the book is pretty dour.
Facts that I found appalling were:
The staff were served, on a neatly laid table with a tablecloth, a full English breakfast - served by the children in front of the children, while the children got weavilly, watery or stodgy porridge and a piece of bread served on tin plates on a plain table;
No effort was made to keep siblings together. They were allotted beds/cottages where there were vacancies;
The children were given hidings for crying when "homesick";
No shoes worn in winter frost;
The children were never allowed to warm their hands in their pockets - the pockets were sewn closed and cut out of their pants;
The clothes they arrived in were taken away and never seen again. They were issued with clothing that was second-hand and worn;
The cottage mothers lacked nurturing skills and any compassion;
There were no figures of authority for the children to turn to or who could lend a kind, comforting ear. A question such as, "Are the children free to complain of injustices to the principal or other authority"was just fobbed off. The principals and some staff members had shadows hanging over them - claims of embezzlement, physical abuse, sexual abuse, gambling problems - basically rather unsavoury types caring for vulnerable children.

These poor children were not only poorly fed, but hygiene was deficient and clothing down-at-heel. Added to this, in spite of good IQ's, scholastic abilities were severely lacking.
Fairbridge children's thieving skills make for amusing reading and delinquency was not unusual among the inmates. The children became institutionalised which did not bode well for coping with adulthood and the world outside.

[RW Hague · Rating 5 out of 5]

In December 2022, I published a book called SURVIVING MIDAS, a fictional story about enslaved children growing drugs on an illegal marijuana farm. The story is fraught with stories of abuse, adults turning blind eyes, and straight-up disregard and cruelty to minors.

This is a real-life SURVIVING MIDAS.

I did not read this book before writing my novel. I stumbled on this story after watching a Call the Midwife Episode where this migration program was mentioned. I picked up the book, expecting to hear some stories about bad experiences, some neglect, that sort of thing. I did not expect to read about a system that enslaved thousands of children on a farm by the ‘good people of society.’ I did not expect to read tales of rotted food and nutritionless rations. Of sexual and physical abuse openly inflicted on children as young as six. And I did not expect to read about repeated investigations about such things that led to nowhere.

Told in a straightforward, evidence-based manner, the book documents the horrors faced by the children of the Britain to Australia Migration Program that operated over fifty years. The author personally lived at the Fairbridge Farm School, so the account is written from first-hand experience. He also shares the stories of his fellow residents, many of whom are still living and still recovering from the evils they faced.

Everyone should read this story.

Everyone should see how something intended to be ‘good,’ became evil from the moment of its inception. How blind-eyes and excuses can lead to such atrocities. This book made my blood boil, and I’m sure it will make yours too.

[Carla Burroughs · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book a bit tedious to read, it’s very repetitive and would of been better as more of a documentary rather than a book. I also feel the author is still trying to hold off on offending Fairbridge, just as he starts talking about the difficulties the children faced he then gives an example of child who had positive experience and he does this a lot throughout the book, whilst it’s great that some children were able to come away with some positive memories I feel like it undermines the majority of the children whose experience was negative as soon as they arrived at the Farm School. Overall I don’t feel the stories of the children were fairly represented and too much time is wasted reading the same things again and again

[Frankie Pullar · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is horrible to think about the reality of these stories as documented by Hill. Although the content is well researched and formatted, I found it dry, slow and (I'm afraid to say) a bit boring. I was expecting more of an autobiographical storytelling - and moments throughout the book where this happened were great - but they were few and far between. If you like history, facts, reports and details, you may find this interesting. It was not at all my cup of tea.

[Adelaide (LiterallyAdele)]

I didn't finish this book as I had to return it to the library. I doubt I'll bother reborrowing it, though. It's an interesting topic but the delivery lets the book down. It was repetitive and oftentimes dull to the point I found myself having to reread entire passages. I will probably look for other books on the topic rather than retrying this one.

[Lynne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not read it, I have no idea when I bought the Kindle version so have no leg to stand on. BUT went to read today and it went straight to 96%of the book so all but all the book is missing, very poor. Watch out if you are thinking of purchasing.
However I felt sure it would have been a good read.

[Shelly Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tales of harrowing failures, abuse of vulnerability and lack of love.

[Berenice Kreymborg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confronting, the children had no rights, no voice to speak out on their behalf

[Kaye Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shocking but interesting. No idea this scheme happened. Poor kids.

[please]

I didn’t like it

[Michele Kites · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart breaking the horrible livrs the British government allowed for these children.

[lynda ann moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was shocked to read about the shameful way the children were treated, and the fact that Fairbridge Farm got away with it. Those children and their families can never get that time back.

[Sue Mcgrath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read and quite heartbreaking for those children taken from their families and the tough conditions they had to endure living in the Australian countryside with strangers.

[Mary Roland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it is a tough read, it is important that this story is read. It is a sad story, and sometimes hard to comprehend how the neglect of child British migrants sent to Australia, was seen as a good idea. They were sent away from their family and their roots, because of poverty or family circumstance. It reinforces the classist attitude of Britain at the time. The British and Australian governments were so negligent. I feel for so many of these children who were treated as slave laborers and denied an education and childhood.

[Jülie ☼♄  · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a scandal! Yet so little has been spoken of it.

Shamefully true horror stories which are even now, still coming to light. It saddens me deeply to realize that stories like these are becoming a part of Australia's fabric.
What manner of human minds could conspire to develop such cruel and soul destroying enterprises? This was, in every sense a social experiment, where British children and their unwitting parents were the pawns. That it went horribly wrong should have come as no surprise to it's drafters and schemers, it had all the hallmarks for a disastrous outcome...at least for the innocent.

The flow on effects from the trauma which has affected the victims and their families is far reaching and is likely to fester for many years to come.
It is incredible, yet sadly unsurprising, to think that these things could happen in the twentieth century!

Australia's history with cruelty did not begin and end with the Aborigines...expect to see a lot more stories like these coming to the fore in the future as more and more victims come to realize it is not their shame to bear.



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[Elfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was well researched and balanced in its portrayal of the Fairbridge Farm School scheme and the persons involved. Certain passages, however, were a bit of let-down, in particular those, where a lot of information and names were listed one after the other, with no story to bind it together.

The mind boggles how this scheme could have survived for so long. While the original intentions were good, execution was abominable. Despite numerous concerns raised, nothing was ever done to improve the horrible conditions. It seems that it was more important to protect friends and political interest than the children. An attitude that is still mirrored today in the refusal to grant full access to the relevant files kept by government departments and the Fairbridge Society. After everything that has already been exposed, one has to wonder what is still worth being protected.

[Sianne Morrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it very dry, however I continued reading about another awful part of our history dealing with children in homes. There was a lot of background stuff that was difficult to get through. I have read several other similar books that I would rate higher, but I really don't want to detract from the tragic stories of these people and what they endured.

[Sarah Pinheiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an extraordinary read!!
Thank you David Hill, for your extensive research and photographs. (For the first time, I have seen an inside photo of the boat my mother arrived to Australia on, SS Strathaird).
Well written, great 'resource' for studies in Social work and Human service practice!!
Great book overall!!

[Carmel McCartin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An open and honest account of life under the Fairbridge Farm scheme. Filled with many anecdotes, this account leaves the reader to cast their own judgement regarding the treatment of children who were involved in this scheme.

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing style is not great but the subject matter is just heartbreaking. Our history is full of things that we can't believe actually happenend. That people would do and think were OK or even a good idea. What will the next generation think about the things we are doing now?

[Abby houston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a well written book i cant believe the British government treated children like this what right did they have to do that? it breaks my heart to read about the child migrants and the way they were treated denied a childhood! The British government should be ashamed of themselves!

[Isabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing and detailed review of a part of Australian history I was not aware of. The level of detail and research is impressive. It aims to show all sides to the story.
I did have to skip some chapters as they weren’t of particular interest to me.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book tedious and made several attempts to read it. Have given up.

[Kezzm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about child migration from England in the 1930's up until the 1970's. Tells of the abuse and neglect of these children to "give them a better life in Australia". True story.