Function and purpose
This is a series of personal documentation presented by
British migrants intending to migrate to Australia. Each dossier is arranged
alphabetically by the intending immigrant's surname but there are three sets of
records. The first set is of migrants who travelled to Australia by ship, the
second by aircraft and the third is a miscellaneous set in which the papers
were removed from more extensive files and put in strict alphabetical order.
The papers in the first set were originally transferred as
loose papers in bundles by individual ship voyages. The bundles were in
chronological order of the departure of the ships from the United Kingdom.
Within these bundles the papers were arranged in alphabetical order of the
surname of the person or family travelling.
This set includes two types of documents in discrete runs.
The first is for passage under the ex-servicemens free passage scheme and the
second, larger run, is for assisted passage (the 10 Pound Pom scheme). The free
passage scheme appears to have expired in 1959 as no passages later than this
date have been found.
The second set was arranged in chronological order of the
departure of aircraft from airports in the United Kingdom and in alphabetical
order by surname within this framework. Some were originally in bundles but as
air travel increased these bundles spread over a number of boxes. The
chronological sorting was for travel within a calendar month but there are
exceptions, 1961 and 1962 have been sorted into an alphabetical run for each
year.
The third set is a single run of papers in alphabetical
order of the surname of the applicant. As these have been removed from their
original files there is no indication of how the people travelled to Australia
or even when they left the United Kingdom.
Each of the papers in the first two sets of this series
include the application, (which contains information on each member of the
family), medical reports for adults, interview reports, minor financial
matters, work experience and references. The papers in the third set are generally
very restricted and often only include the application form.
Physical characteristics
Small amounts of various forms and loose papers on
migrations of individuals and families. The papers were generally held together
with files pins or staples. All have been rehoused in acid free wallets and
many file pins have been removed.
System of arrangement and control
Due to the difference data elements available in this series
the controls vary.
In the first set the control is by date of departure, name
of ship and surname. Initials from the head of the family (or applicant) are
included.
The second set is controlled by the month and year of
departure of the aircraft and then by the surname of the family. Initials are
used as given above.
The third set is in a single alphabetical run by surname of
the family and initials of the applicant.
Finding aids
Series history
In 2002 a major project was started on this series.
Information on migration papers for individuals and families was entered at
item level. The papers were all rehoused in acid free folders and bundles were
dispensed with.
Provenance
Disposal history