Forced adoptions in Australia, could it happen again?
Australian True Crime
Bravecasting
4.5 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 19 June 2022
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Australia in the mid twentieth century has a dark history of forced adoption. Women who did not fit the moral expectations of the time (usually those who were young and unmarried) had their children taken from them at birth, often with little to no information left behind for them to be reunited.
Our guest today, Lily Arthur, is one story of many, and it is an absolutely heartbreaking one. It is also a story of determination and grit, and the long fight Lily went through to seek justice for what happened to her and many others.
Links:
Lily's book: Dirty Laundry: The Crimes A Country Tried To Hide
QLD Judgement can be found here: https://www.queenslandjudgments.com.au/caselaw/qsc/2004/456
Origins SPSA (Supporting people separated by adoption): https://www.originsnsw.com/
CREDITS:
Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on Instagram
Co-Host: Emily Webb. You can find her on Instagram here and listen to her podcast Killer Content here.
Guest: Lily Arthur
Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard
Executive Producer: Jacqueline Tonks
Recorded at a Hub Australia Media Studio. Find the workspace that's right for you at https://www.hubaustralia.com/
If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode you can contact:
Lifeline on 13 11 14
13 YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7 crisis support phone line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)
GET IN TOUCH:
Follow the show on Instagram @australiantruecrimepodcast and Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/AustralianTrueCrimePod/
Email the show at team@smartfella.com.au
Australian True Crime is a podcast by Smart Fella Media. Your story matters and how you tell it matters even more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello Michelle here there's something I need you to know about it's called Australian |
| 0:03.4 | True Crime Plus for just a couple of dollars a month you can get extra |
| 0:06.8 | episodes including Ask Us Anything's with Emily and I early access to our weekly episodes |
| 0:11.8 | shout-outs and the complete back catalogue and all of it, |
| 0:14.8 | ad free. |
| 0:15.8 | You can become an Australian True Crime Plus member by hitting the link in the show notes or on our |
| 0:19.8 | Facebook page. |
| 0:25.0 | The producers of this podcast |
| 0:28.0 | recognise the traditional owners of the land on which it's recorded. |
| 0:34.1 | They pay respect to the Aboriginal elders past, present and those emerging. The following podcast contains content of a graphic violent nature and is not suitable for children. |
| 0:49.0 | Nobody had a right, people I didn't even know, made decisions about where my life was going to go and forced me to live a life that I shouldn't have to live. I shouldn't have to be the mental health scars, you know, like of what they |
| 1:05.6 | inflicted on me. I should have been, you know, happily married and probably had a few more |
| 1:10.8 | children that robbed me of my only son. |
| 1:13.9 | And the last words on my lips |
| 1:15.6 | when I probably go into heaven, if I go there, |
| 1:18.4 | will be they stole my son. |
| 1:20.1 | They stole my son and they didn't give him back. |
| 1:31.5 | Australia in the mid 20th century has a dark history of forced adoption. |
| 1:35.6 | Women who did not fit the moral expectations of the time, |
| 1:41.4 | usually those who were young and unmarried, had their children taken from them at birth, |
| 1:46.1 | often with little to no information left behind for them to be reunited. Our guest today, Lily Arthur, is one |
| 1:55.0 | it is an absolutely heartbreaking one. It is also a story of determination and grit, |
... |
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