Oranges and Sunshine: Empty Cradles by Humphreys Margaret

Author:Humphreys, Margaret [Humphreys, Margaret]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781446464465
Publisher: Transworld
Published: 2011-10-13T00:00:00+00:00

20

Joanna Mack managed to give me a month’s notice that Lost Children of the Empire was being broadcast in Australia. Thanks to the Trust’s anonymous benefactor, I flew into Perth two weeks beforehand.

I wanted to be early because I had news for many of the people that I had met in Perth the previous year: birth certificates for some, for others whole families. I was going to be able to tell quite a few of the Nazareth House girls that I’d found their mothers, brothers and sisters, and was carrying letters and photos for some of them.

Penny and John had booked a holiday abroad, but they cancelled it just before I left England.

‘Why?’ I asked.

‘Because we’re coming to Australia,’ said John. ‘Thought we might be useful. If not, we’ll work on our suntans.’

My past experiences of Perth filled me with a sense of foreboding but at least this time I had some good news for people. Perhaps it would ease the burden.

The last thing I expected to receive on my second day there was an invitation to a meeting with various representatives of the Catholic Church, including a member of the Christian Brothers. I knew little of this Order and this would be my first personal contact.

A telephone call to my hotel invited me to a lunch time meeting.

Penny commented to me, ‘This could be a difficult meeting, Margaret.’

I nodded. ‘Yes, but it could also be constructive. I think you’d better come with me to take notes.’

It was a fiercely hot day but we decided to walk. Fortunately, the venue, an office on Hay Street, was only a few minutes from our hotel.

It was a large building, in a high-rent area of the city centre. We arrived at midday and were ushered into a large room where a small group of men, one or two of whom seemed elderly, were sitting on straight-backed chairs around a table. Some wore a solemn uniform of black suit, black socks and black shoes as they sat quietly throughout the meeting.

I anticipated that they had probably seen the documentary. A copy may have been sent from England. I approached the meeting with a very formal attitude and asked for example how long the meeting would last, who was the Chair, and whether I could have a written copy of the agenda. It was clear that my request for formality was not appreciated.

‘What agenda? You’ve been invited to come here for a discussion.’

This reply surprised me. For some reason, it sounded like I had called the meeting. I hadn’t asked to come. I sat there, wondering what would happen next.

There was a long pause before one of the men broke the silence.

‘We wanted you to come here to tell you, in our view, that these outrageous claims of physical and sexual abuse are unfounded. It is all grossly exaggerated. There are many students who are very grateful for the time they spent here. This has been blown up out of all proportion.’

I had a familiar feeling that I was being brought to account.

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