Item HT 33797 Pamphlet - Marjorie Mitchell, 'Australia As I Found It', Society for the Overseas Settlement of British Women, London, 1930

Summary

Four page pamphlet entitled 'Australia As I Found It. Being the Actual Experience of an English Girl as Told by Herself' authored by Marjorie Mitchell, a domestic servant who migrated to Australia in 1929. The pamphlet was published by the Society for the Overseas Settlement of British Women in London, 1930, evidently to promote emigration from the UK by young women in order to enter domestic service.

During the 1920s the Australian and British governments coordinated assistance schemes such as Empire Settlement in order to encourage the migration of British families and in particular single men and women to fill desperately required domestic and agricultural labour jobs. This pamphlet outlines Marjorie's experiences, from working as a governess in England to responding to an employment advertisement for domestic servants in Australia, to her voyage, descriptions of her employment and the advantages of domestic service over office work.

Physical Description

Octavo, four pages over two conjugate leaves, folded. Cream paper with black printed text.

Significance

This pamphlet demonstrates the promotion of assisted migration to Australia from the UK. It is more unusual in its drawing on the personal voice and experience of a domestic servant to encourage migration, highlights the shortage in the 1920s of domestic servants and documents the types of associations established for this purpose.