Robert Clarke interviewed by Jennifer Barrkman for the Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants oral history project [sound recording]
- Bib ID:
- 5883422
- Format:
- Audio
- Author:
- Clarke, Robert, 1943-, interviewee
- Online Access:
- National Library of Australia digitised item
- Access Conditions:
- Access open for research, personal copies and public use.
- Description:
-
- 2012
- 4 sound files (ca. 268 min.)
- Series:
- Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants oral history project.
- Technical Details:
- Mode of access: Online.
- Summary:
-
Robert Clarke talks about his German ancestry; mother's marriages; his father and his drinking; Ilfracombe, Queensland; early happy memories of his mother, siblings and horses; Scrub Road, Belmont; father destroyed house; mother's health; farm work; mother unable to care for children; Diamantina Receiving Depot, Wooloowin; separation from siblings; cruelty of nurses; relationship with people who were deaf and mute; learning sign language; placement of siblings; difficulty for older boys being adopted; Returned Soldiers; unwanted children; babies in care; Wards of the state; chosen for adoption at six, but returned to Diamantina; abuse in early foster homes; gardening work; mother's visits when well; schooling at Woolowin School and Wavell Heights State School; nickname "guttersnipe"; food from a school friend; misbehaviours; Police; State Childrens Department; Clwyed Farm, Croftby Road via Boonah; farm for "misfits"; dyslexia and learning difficulties; foster parents Mr and Mrs Adams and their kindness; first birthday party; community attitudes to State wards; friendships; flogging of an effeminate boy; Mr Adam's help to build a billy cart; foster child with disability; intolerance of bullying.
Clarke discusses his appreciation and love towards Adams'; good conditions on farm; boxing; school brawls; mother's illiteracy; drought (1952); legacy from Mrs Adams; Teviot State School; regulated contact with his mother; abuse, violence and assaults at Salvation Army boys homes in Indooroopilly and Ipswich; tuberculosis; dairy work; work ethic and life skills; "the 5th column" friends who looked out for each other; rostered duties; sharing food; Westbrook; Boggo Road Gaol; Nudgee Boys College; church; corporal punishment; sister Sally; working on boats; Bald Hills, Northern Territory station work; learning to cook; Aboriginal people; Banka Banka Station; return to Brisbane; mother's death; drinking culture; career in mines and mining; Mt. Isa; Warrego; relationships with women and his children; renal disease; death of a miner (1969); work ethic; Peco Mines; marriage (1975); Yarraman; Apology to Forgotten Australians; reporting abuse at Riverview; recovering from early abuse; compensation; recent visits to Riverview; prison system; importance of listening to children; sharing his experiences; overcoming alcohol dependency; and dealing with anger.
- Notes:
- Recorded on 8 March 2012 in Yarraman, Qld.
- Index/Finding Aid Note:
- Timed summary (5 p.)
- Subject:
-
- Clarke, Robert, 1943- -- Interviews
- Diamantina Receiving Depot and Infants' Home (Wooloowin, Qld.)
- Riverview Training Farm For Boys (Riverview, Qld.)
- Alkira Salvation Army Home for Boys (Indooroopilly, Qld.)
- National Apology to the Forgotten Australians and former Child Migrants (16 Nov. 2009 : Canberra)
- Children -- Institutional care -- Queensland
- Foster home care -- Queensland
- Other authors/contributors:
- Barrkman, Jennifer, interviewer
- Related Records:
-
This belongs to the Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants oral history project.
This collection contains 208 records. - Copyright:
-
In Copyright
You may copy under some circumstances, for example you may copy a portion for research or study. Order a copy through Copies Direct to the extent allowed under fair dealing. Contact us for further information about copying.
- Reason for copyright status:
- Until 2082 [Created/Published Date + 70 Years]
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Sound Recording
- Published status:
- Unpublished
- Creation date:
- 2012
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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