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The Personal History Index for former child migrants
to catholic homes in Western Australia
1938 - 1965
If you came to Australia as a child migrant, you were one of 1,114 other children from Britain and Malta - 198 girls, and 916 boys.
Nearly 800 childen came from Britain and around 300 from Malta. A small number of other children, originally from Britain, transferred from Fairbridge Farm or Tasmania.
Children were as young as three, or as old as sixteen years when they left their homeland. The largest group are now between 55 and 65 years of age.
The Christian Brothers, the Sisters of Mercy, and the Poor Sisters of Nazareth have developed a computerised index that details the location of records held in Western Australia for former child migrants to Catholic Homes between 1938 and 1965. This computerised index is known as PHIND - the Personal History INDex.
The first group of migrants came from Britain in 1938, the last of the children came from Malta in 1965. PHIND will assist these people to locate records about themselves that are held by church or government agencies. PHIND may also be of assistance to descendants of former child migrants.
Personal Details
Date and place of birth, details of death, parents' names, if known.
Migration Details
Age at departure, shipping details, name and location of sending Order (e.g.
Sisters of Nazareth) in the UK and Malta, and the destination Order (e.g.
Christian Brothers) in WA.
Residence in WA
Initial desitination (e.g. St Joseph's, Castledare) and transfers between
Schools and Homes.
Location of Records
Details of where people can go to access the following records about themselves:
Accessing PHIND is the first step in locating records about yourself as a child. The amount and quality of records held about individual former child migrants will vary.
PHIND is a confidential index. Only former child migrants or their nominated representatives are able to access it. Please telephone for an appointment and to find out what identification or authorisation you must bring with you.
Further information on child migration to Australia since Federation can be found in the National Archives of Australia publication, Good British Stock: Child and Youth Migration to Australia 1901-83, published 1999.