Summary

Floral painted, oval, bone china brooch in its original box which was a 21st birthday and farewell gift from Len and Marjorie Childs to Barbara Woods, when she migrated to Australia with her husband John from England in 1957.

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.

Physical Description

Oval-shaped, white bone china brooch with hand-painted floral bouquet design. Brooch has a gold frame. Rear of brooch has a pin clasp and a maker's imprint. Blue cardboard box with black velvet internal support with oval imprint.

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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