Summary

Letter and envelope addressed to Aileen Castillo from the Department of Immigration in Canberra, confirming a declaration she made under Section 18 (A) of the Nationality Act 1920-36 had been registered. The letter also informs Aileen of her remaining subject to the National Security (Aliens Control) Regulations. The letter is dated 2 April, 1946.

Philippines-born Agapito Castillo had married Aileen McColl in Melbourne while he was working for the British Phosphate Company and was detained there during World War II.

This item is part of a collection of material relating to the migration and settlement experiences of seamen from the Philippines during the post World War II era in Australia; and the experiences of the local Anglo-Australian women they married.

Physical Description

Document with black printed ink and black handwritten inscriptions printed on cream paper.

Significance

This collection and story represents an important narrative in Australia's migration history, regarding the challenges faced by seamen from the Philippines caught in Melbourne during the outbreak of World War II and unable to return home, trying to settle in Melbourne and marry locally-born women of Anglo-Australian background. It also shows the prejudice these women themselves faced. The collection reveals a community of these men and women and their families, connected through family relationships; and it demonstrates the vagaries of bureaucracy, and the influence of the White Australia policy, still officially in force at that time.

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