Summary

Letter sent by the Chief Migration Officer, Australia House in London to Stanley Hathaway between May and November 1951 (letter has no date). The letter advises Stanley that if he is intending to ship excess personal items to Australia that freight costs within Australia will be very costly while his final destination is unknown. He is advised to store goods in the UK until he secures a final address.

Stanley and Lucy (nee Simmons) Hathaway and their daughter Hazel survived World War II in heavily bombed Coventry, England, remaining there until 1946. They attended the Victory in Europe celebrations there on 8 May 1945. The Hathaways relocated to Buckinghamshire (where second daughter Merle was born in 1948) and Hampshire between 1946 and 1951, finally deciding to migrate to Australia. Their application took nearly two years to be confirmed under the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme, correspondence indicating that Stanley's trade qualifications were not immediately accepted for the Commonwealth Nomination Scheme. They lived and toured England in a caravan until finally departing on the New Australia, 17 November, 1951.

The Hathaways first stayed at the Bathurst Migrant Camp in New South Wales before being relocated to a housing commission estate in Ballarat, Victoria. Within six months they had purchased a block of land in Wendouree, living in a caravan while their house was built. The family became active members of the local Ballarat community, with Lucy working for the newly established McCallum House Centre for Retarded Children at Sebastopol and continued her strong interest in the Brownies and Girl Guides associations. They later relocated to Melbourne and then retired to Buninyong.

Physical Description

Single page letter, typed in black ink on cream paper.

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