Michael Ross interviewed by Susan Marsden for the Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants oral history project [sound recording]
- Bib ID:
- 5740139
- Format:
- Audio
- Author:
- Ross, Michael, 1937-, interviewee
- Online Access:
- National Library of Australia digitised item
- Access Conditions:
- Access open for research, personal copies and public use.
- Description:
-
- 2011
- 3 sound files (ca. 219 min.)
- Series:
- Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants oral history project.
- Technical Details:
- Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
- Summary:
-
Michael Ross speaks about his parents' history; obtaining records of his institutionalisation and care; his early life in London; his siblings and step-sibling; Margaret Humphreys; the Child Migrants' Trust; his name change from Rosenberg to Ross; what happened to his family during the war in London; the Blind Babies Orphanage at Southport, Merseyside and visiting it as an adult; his emotional response to the orphanage; running away; being joined by his brother before they were sent to Alverstoke National Children's Home; locating his father; the Ross family reunion in 2011; visiting his mother; visiting his father's grave in a Jewish section; being put on the train to Southport with his gas mask and identification card, during World War II; food, domestic work and entertainment at the orphanage; his education and learning difficulties; travelling to Australia; the financial arrangements between orphanages and governments in Australia; the Juvenile Migration to South Australia symposium; talking with his brother David about their shared past; the contrast between orphan life in England and Australia; religion; the food, living conditions and landscape of Lentara Children's Home; relationships with the Australian boys; schooling at Norwood Boys Technical School; the strain of having his younger brother at Lentara; the long term effects of his upbringing; abuse in England; friendships; his relationship with his mother and visiting her in England.
Ross speaks about farm work; working in radio electronics in North Adelaide; what happened to his brother David; relationships with people other than employers; the lack of a father figure in his life; the Methodist Church and Child Welfare; his attempts to study; meeting his wife at a dance and marriage at thirty-five; the suicide of a friend; shearing; getting his first home; his children; his distress at discovering that he had a daughter who had been adopted; pursuing his family history; his career in electrical engineering; his role in television broadcasting in Ceduna in the 1990s; the possessions he brought to Australia; his involvement in local government; his interactions with Aboriginal Australians; the influences of his upbringing on being a husband and a parent; being a grandparent; connecting with his father's family; meeting his brother Harold; attending family and other reunions; the British Government's financial support for his 2011 visit to England to reconnect with family; his desire for an apology from the Methodist Church; his reaction to the British Government's apology; meeting with the British High Commissioner in Adelaide in 2010; his interview on ABC Radio and the response of locals; his response to the National Apology to Forgotten Australians and former Child Migrants; his reflections on his life.
- Notes:
- Recorded on 13 October 2011 in Adelaide, S.A.
- Index/Finding Aid Note:
- Timed summary (9 p.)
- Subject:
-
- Ross Michael, 1937- -- Interviews
- Child Migrants Trust
- National Children's Home (Alverstoke, England)
- Lentara Children's Home (Magill, S.A.)
- National Apology to the Forgotten Australians and former Child Migrants (16 Nov. 2009 : Canberra)
- Apology to Former Child Migrants (24 Feb. 2013 : London)
- Immigrant children, British -- Institutional care -- Australia
- Children -- Institutional care -- Australia -- History -- 20th century
- Electrical engineers -- Australia -- Interviews
- Occupation:
- Electrical engineers
- Other authors/contributors:
- Marsden, Susan, 1952-, interviewer
- Related Records:
-
This belongs to the Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants oral history project.
This collection contains 208 records. - Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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- Reason for copyright status:
- Until 2081 [Created/Published Date + 70 Years]
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Sound Recording
- Published status:
- Unpublished
- Creation date:
- 2011
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
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