Summary

One of a series of postcards issued by the Commonwealth Immigration Office, during the early 1920s, to promote immigration to Australia for rural settlement. This postcard promotes production of sawn timber from the bush sawmilling and forestry industry. The scene depicts a team of three horses hauling a load of sawn timber on a wooden-railed timber tramway of the type used by many bush sawmills for both harvesting timber and delivering their product to the nearest railway siding for transport to metropolian markets. A male timber worker is riding on the load (controlling the horses?), while another man is walking along the tramway behind the load. The horses are rounding a curve in the track and are about to cross a timber tresstle bridge over a small fern gully. In the distance the roofs of several buildings can be seen between the trees. The reverse side has a outline map of Australia with 'Kinsmen! We Welcome You' printed across it, together with population statistics and a reference to the Australian Pavilion at the British Empire Exhibition, which was held at Wembley, England, from April-October 1924.

The postcards were part of a promotional scheme, that also included advertising posters, introduced by the Commonwealth Immigration Office, after it assumed responsibility for the recruitment and transport of assisted immigrants to Australia from the individual State governments in 1921. The postcards portray rural activities, and feature positive propaganda style messages to entice intending migrants. The rural subject matter highlights the strong push for British rural workers and settlers during the 1920s as part of the Empire Settlement Scheme.

Physical Description

Postcard with black and white photograph of a rural scene published as a half-tone print with accompanying text on front and back of card.

Significance

This collection of postcards offers important insights into Australia's migration policies and promotional activities during the 1920s, a period when enticing British immigrants for agricultural settlement was a key priority, along with attracting farm labourers and domestic workers. Recruiting British migrants to Australia to settle on the land was an important Government strategy for Australian immigration schemes at this time, particularly with the launch of the Empire Settlement Scheme in 1922, which offered assistance and land packages to immigrants from the United Kingdom with varying degrees of success.

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