Summary

Colour photograph showing John and Barbara Woods (at left) and two friends holding a cake in the shape of Australia to celebrate the 25th anniversary of John and Barbara Woods' arrival in Australia from England in 1957. Barbara and John hosted a party on 13 November 1982 at their home in Lalor to celebrate - the house they built in 1960. The collection also holds a pennant, invitation and other photographs taken at the event.

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

Two men and two women holding a cake in the shape of Australia.

Physical Description

Digital scan of colour 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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