Summary

Black and white digital photograph of Sylvia, Harry, Jim and Shirley Forbes boarding the Sitmar Line ship Fair Sky, which sailed from Southampton, England to Melbourne, Australia on 8 July 1961 (the original sailing date was 10 July 1961). Sylvia is holding her papers while the officials check her brother-in-law Harry's documentation.

James and Sylvia Forbes migrated from Aberdeen in Scotland with their two year old daughter Shirley and James' younger brother Harry. The family were sent to Broadmeadows Hostel and more family followed who settled in Adelaide. Sylvia was employed at the Ford Factory while James worked for Stewarts & Lloyds Stanton Pipes Division. Tragically James was killed in an industrial accident on 20 June 1963 and after subsequently also losing her unborn baby, Sylvia and Shirley returned to Scotland on 18 September 1963. Shirley visited Australia for the first time since departing in 2014.

Description of Content

Woman in pale coloured coat, four men and a child queuing with papers being checked by men in white jackets.

Physical Description

digital photograph

Significance

This collection provides a valuable and poignant insight into a young family's post-war British migration experience and their return home. It offers a perspective on the return migrant experience which is more difficult to obtain, as opposed to the more commonly told permanent settlement narratives; and it also reveals the diverse (and at time tragic) reasons why migration can be a transient experience for some.

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