Kids in Care in 20th Century Australia Multiple Choice Quiz | History

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What was the name of the Act in Western Australia that allowed the removal of Indigenous children from their families ?

Answer: 1905 Aborigines Act

In Western Australia, the Act giving the government power to forcibly remove children from their parents was enacted in 1905. The 1909 Act provided similar powers in New South Wales, 1897 in Queensland and 1939 in South Australia. Aboriginal children, especially those who were lighter skinned, were removed in the hope that within a generation or two, they would be "assimilated" completely into white society. According to Anna Haebich's book "Broken Circles", it was considered that "little could be done to help 'full bloods' apart from issuing rations to 'smooth the dying pillow"..i.e. support them until the race died out, mainly from disease introduced by the Europeans.

2. Under the Child Migrant Scheme, between 1947 and 1953, approximately how many children from the UK came to Australia ?

Answer: 3,200

Children were sent to religious and charitable organisations in almost every state. Some were treated very well, some very badly.

3. Which of the following organisations was NOT responsible for sending child migrants to Australia ?

Answer: Red Cross

Various organisations ran homes in many parts of Australia. Accounts of life in these homes can be read in Margaret Humphries' work "Empty Cradles", "The Forgotten Children" by David Hill and other sources.

4. In the UK, some parents returning to collect their children after placing them in care during a family crisis e.g. illness, were told the children had been sent overseas.

Answer: True

There are documented instances where parents in the UK who had placed their children in care during a crisis, returned to collect them, only to be told they had gone to Australia. One woman was sent her file and found records stating that her mother had given birth to six illegitimate children by six different fathers. This was incorrect.
At times, child migrants had dates of birth and even names altered. Brothers and sisters were separated and often prevented from communicating with each other.
Parents were often actively discouraged from migrating to reconnect with their children. (Ref: David Hill:"The Forgotten Children".)

5. From a document compiled in Queensland in 1956, which of the following was NOT among the top three reasons for admission into institutional care?

Answer: Parents unable to control

According to a table published in "Orphans of the Living", of 2,106 children admitted to care in 1955-56, over 1000 children fitted into one or other the "mother unable to support" categories mentioned. "Parents unable to control" rated a mere 17 admissions.

6. What was the usual background for people employed in caring for children in institutions ?

Answer: Unqualified and often poorly educated

Joanna Penglase's excellent book "Orphans of the Living" details life in some of these facilities. While some homes employed qualified staff, it was more common to employed untrained and inexperienced people who happened to be living in the vicinity of the home. ("Orphans of the Living", pp. 185-194).

7. Aboriginal children were removed to various institutions in many parts of Australia. Which of the following was not one ?

Answer: Fairbridge Farm School Pinjarra (Western Australia)

To learn more about the forcible removal of Aboriginal children in Australia, Anna Haebich's books "Broken Circles" and "For Their Own Good" are great sources of information.

8. Which of the following is NOT an organisation whose primary focus is to help former child migrants, children placed in orphanages or Indigenous children separated from their parents ?

Answer: Jigsaw

Adoption Jigsaw is a organisation which works primarily to reunite those adopted as infants with their birth families. Adoption Jigsaw was instrumental in my finding my birth family.
CLAN is an acronym for Care Leavers of Australia Network (i.e. those adults who spent at least a part of their childhood in a facility), while Bringing Them Home is devoted to reuniting Indigenous families separated by policy.
The Child Migrant Trust works to reunite former child migrants with their families.

9. It was usual for children in institutions to retain their own clothes, toys, etc.

Answer: False

While child migrants were usually sent with a complete outfit of clothes, it was rare for them to be allowed to retain these items once they reached their destination. Many former inmates speak of minimal clothing, poor quality food and bedding, beatings and sexual abuse.

10. In what year, approximately, did the child Migration Scheme cease ?

Answer: 1967

According to records, there were still a few children being sent overseas up till 1967. My reference for this date is from Margaret Humphries' book "Empty Cradles".

Source: Author tezza1551

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Kids in Care in 20th Century Australia Quiz

In the twentieth century, social policies in Australia impacted heavily on children - indigenous, children in care and those exported by the UK. This quiz examines the impact of such policies.

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