Item HT 16865 Letter - John E. Ridgway to George White, Opportunity for Assisted Passage, Dec 1911

Summary

Letter to Mr George White in Stockport England from John E. Ridgway, 'Shipping & Colonizing Expert', in Manchester, dated December 1911. The letter refers to an accompanying application form for assisted passages to Victoria for tradesmen and urges immediate completion for any chance at success.

Description of Content

Letter to Mr George White in Stockport England from John E. Ridgway, 'Shipping & Colonizing Expert' in Manchester. The letter refers to an accompanying application form for assisted passages to Victoria for tradesmen and urges immediate completion for any chance at success. The letter is dated December 1911.

Physical Description

Single page typed letter with letterhead featuring illustration of a ship. It lists Manchester, London, Preston and Melbourne addresses.

Significance

This small collection of documents traces the process of one man's application for artisan assisted passage, illustrating the agencies involved, the targeting of particular categories of migrants, and the assistance available to immigrants from the UK. It is a period when the states still controlled assisted migration selection and intake, prior to the Commonwealth assuming this responsibility in1921. The documents reflect the tenor of the era for proactive recruitment of migrants for the UK and the collaborative arrangements between immigration and related agents in Britain and Australia to encourage British migration.