Item HT 16867 Letter - S. Whitehead to George White, Assisted Passage Interview, 22 Jan 1912

Summary

Letter to Mr George White from S. Whitehead, Official Representative for Artisan Immigration, dated 22 January 1912. The letter is entitled 'Artisan Emigration' and nominates an interview time at John Ridgway's office, the 'Shipping & Colonizing Expert' in Manchester.

Description of Content

Letter to Mr George White in Stockport England from S. Whitehead, Official Representative for Artisan Immigration. The letter is entitled 'Artisan Emigration' and nominates an interview time at John Ridgway's office, the 'Shipping & Colonizing Expert' in Manchester. The letter is dated 22/1/1912.

Physical Description

Single page typed letter with letterhead titled: 'Victorian Artisan and Factory Workers' Emigration Department.' Address Victorian Government Office, Melbourne Place, Strand, London.

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.