HOME      FORUM      HELP      SEARCH      
News : The Surname Interests Table (SIT), the Database for Special Interests Groups (DBSIG) and Ancestral Anniversaries
are now "mobile friendlier" more here ...
The RootsChat Reference Library

RootsChat.Com »  RootsChat Reference Library »   Database for Special Interest Groups (DBSIG) »   British Home Children : Quick Search

Record #5452
Name :
: Mary L. M. O'BRIEN (1946 - )


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 1 Apr 1946

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
:
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland, Essex, Rochford
Abode (2) : Place of Death / Burial
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: May 1959
Country
: Australia

Ship
: Strathaird

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Fairbridge Homes
NotesA birth registration was found for Mary L M O'Brien: Mother's Maiden Surname: Baker; Date of Registration: Jan Feb Mar 1946; Registration district: Rochford; Registration county: Essex; Volume Number: 4a; Page Number: 1274.

In 1959, Mary O'Brien, 13 (along with brother, Patrick O'Brien, 15 and sister, Myrtle O'Brien, 12), arrived at Sydney, Australia, in a group of Fairbridge children from Knockholt, Kent, England, en route to Fairbridge Farm School, Molong, Australia.

In an interview with the Sunday Times Online (July 27, 2007), Mary O'Brien broke her silence telling of the sexual abuse she received at the hands of her after-school carer.

"Mary O?Brien cannot forget being driven through London?s East End, where she had lived, towards Tilbury docks, one dreary, wet and miserable April afternoon. She was 13.

That year, 1959, she left England for the Fairbridge Farm School at Molong, New South Wales, with her brother Paddy and sister Myrtle, aboard the SS Strathaird, a grand old P&O liner. When she boarded the ship, in her linen hat and gingham frock, she stepped into a sumptuous world of wealth and luxury.

'It was a child?s dream,' she said. Within six weeks the children sat in a rattling old train heading towards the Fairbridge Farm School in rural Australia. Mary recalls arriving at the station: ?We were herded into a truck and driven out to the farm. And the honeymoon was over??

Within a year at Molong, Mary was moved out of her cottage into Gloucester House, where visitors to the farm stayed. It was also the home of the aftercare officer, Mr William Phillips, and his family. Mary served as the ?domestic? and shared a bedroom with Phillips?s daughter.

'I was expected to clean up for them, serve them and their visitors. It was the most degrading part of my life. [H]e [Mr Phillips] sexually abused me. I?d then be expected to serve him breakfast next morning. I didn?t mention it because I thought it was just happening to me. I had no idea whether other children were having problems.'

Her grades at Orange High School, which Fairbridge allowed her to attend because she showed talent, slipped; her self-esteem fell; and she played truant. But within two years she was allowed to rejoin her mother, who emigrated to Australia to be reunited with her three children, and lived in a flat in an outer suburb of Sydney.

'I felt sorry for those who never had that,? Mary recalls, ?to walk out of Fairbridge and have their mums to go to. My mum was poor and she was sick. But she was my mum. And she took me away from there. And that was everything.'" 
ContributorsCreated : 2009-03-06 10:59:06 / From original database

Last Updated : 2009-03-06 11:25:08 /

Family History ResearchersRootsChatters with family connections to Mary L. M. O'BRIEN:



 
Readers Comments

Surnames starting with:   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  14 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
27617 ATKINS, George Frederick1905ENG, ESS, Rochford Jun 1914 : Empress of Britain CAN Salvation Army  
27618 ATKINS, Jane Ellen1900ENG, ESS, Rochford Jun 1914 : Empress of Britain CAN Salvation Army  
27619 ATKINS, William Richard1903ENG, ESS, Rochford Jun 1914 : Empress of Britain CAN Salvation Army  
8807 BINES, Frederick John1899ENG,    , Rochford Jul 1911 : Sicilian CAN Barnardos  
8801 BINES, Lydia1896ENG,    , Rochford Apr 1906 : Friesland CAN Barnardos  
12695 BUDREY, Maud1910ENG,    , Rochford Oct 1920 : Scandinavian CAN Barnardos  
12691 BUDREY, Ronald William1912ENG,    , Rochford Sep 1922 : Minnedosa CAN Barnardos  
9607 CABLE, Harry1893ENG,    , Rochford Apr 1906 : Southwark CAN National Childrens Home  
9608 CABLE, Herbert1895ENG,    , Rochford Apr 1906 : Southwark CAN National Childrens Home  
12283 CALDER, Warwick1923ENG, ESS, Rochford Jul 1937 : Duchess of Bedford CAN Barnardos  
9061 CHAMP, Alfred1865ENG,    , Rochford May 1878 : Peruvian CAN MacPherson Homes  
5452 O'BRIEN, Mary L. M.1946ENG, ESS, Rochford May 1959 : Strathaird AUS Fairbridge Homes  
5454 O'BRIEN, Myrtle A.1947ENG, ESS, Rochford May 1959 : Strathaird AUS Fairbridge Homes  
5453 O'BRIEN, Patrick1944ENG, ESS, Rochford May 1959 : Strathaird AUS Fairbridge Homes