Summary

Black and white digital photograph showing a blue 1953 Holden Sedan car parked in a driveway with John Wood's leaning out of the driver's window, 1958. It was his first car purchased in Australia on 31 December, 1957, nearly three months after migrating from England to Australia with his wife Barbara as assisted migrants. He bought the car from Superior Cars in Coburg. John and Barbara were residing at 32 Raymond Street West Preston at the time.

Barbara and John Woods married in 1955 and were living in commission housing with extended family in Buckinghamshire, England when they decided to apply for the assisted passage scheme and migrate to Australia. They sailed on the Sitmar Line MV 'Fairsea' from Southampton in 1957 and eventually built their house in Lalor [also referred to in some items in the collection asThomastown] in 1960. They had a variety of jobs before they opened their own drapery store in Lalor and had four children.

Description of Content

Holden parked in a driveway with lattice fencing on either side; man's head visible from one window.

Physical Description

Digital scan of photograph.

Significance

The Woods family collection documents through objects, documents and photographs the experiences of an English family who migrated to Australia under the 'Ten Pound Pom' assisted passage scheme. The material enables the exploration of their entire migration narrative, from the decision to emigrate, planning and departure, the ship voyage, arrival and early settlement, including employment, building a house and family life. More than one million people from Great Britain migrated to Australia under this scheme between the 1940s and 1970s.

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