This film is part of Free
Fairbridge Empire Settlement through Child Colonization
Glasgow children leave behind their families and poverty to seek a better life on the other side of the world.
Overview
Will handing your kids to strangers 9,000 miles away free them from poverty? Some of these children from the Calton district of Glasgow are shoeless, but all seem happy. Their smiles continue for the cameras as they leave Waterloo Station for Southampton Terminus and a ship onward to Fremantle, Australia. Their own kin have been replaced by the 'big family' at the Farm School in Pinjarra, but have they swapped destitution for an education in paradise or something more like child labour?
This film serves a propaganda purpose, aiming to win public support for the Child Emigration Society, seven years after the death of its founder, Kingsley Fairbridge. Child migration was a controversial child care strategy, and the use of the terms 'Empire Settlement', 'Colonization' and 'Dominions' in the film's title cards reveals its other purpose - populating the empire with white people. Eventually the improved economic and social conditions provided by the welfare state in Britain would overtake schemes such as these, but the Farm School at Pinjarra remained open until 1981.
Related
My Pipe Dream My Pipe Dream
Amateur film 1987 16 mins Location: Ancoats
Up in smoke - an era draws to a close for the clay-pipe makers of Manchester.
Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass) Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2011 33 mins
Over 30 years and 150 projects, the composer shares, with humour and passion, the intricacies of making film music.
Ian Neil (Masterclass) Ian Neil (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2012 74 mins
Neil selected soundtracks for 127 Hours, Shame, Kick Ass, Control and many more. He discusses the job and its complexities, referencing his own work.
Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan
Inside Film 2012 mins
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's adapter reveals his quest for "the poem of the book" and the importance of simplicity: 'Drain the pond to find the fish'.
Gabriel Yared on composing for film Gabriel Yared on composing for film
Inside Film 2013 11 mins
Composer of The Lives of Others, The English Patient and Betty Blue on intimacy and experimentation.
Lois Burwell on movie makeup Lois Burwell on movie makeup
Inside Film 2013 17 mins
Lincoln, Braveheart and Magnolia make-up artist Lois Burwell explains how she created some of her most iconic looks, as part of a BAFTA Masterclass.
Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass) Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass)
2013 61 mins
British cinematographer of The Hurt Locker, Captain Phillips, Hillsborough and Riff Raff reviews the art of the moving image.