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Tasmania - Organisation

Young Men's Christian Association (1880 - )

From
1880
Alternative Names
  • YMCA (Abbreviation)
Website
https://hobart.ymca.org.au/

The Young Men's Christian Association arrived in Launceston in 1880 and Hobart in 1882. It promoted a Christian all round development of young men from all kinds of backgrounds. The Association considered bringing some British boys aged 14 to 16 to Tasmania in 1947. However, this does not appear to have happened. In 2014, the Association provides healthy activities for both girls and boys.

Details

In 1947, the national Migration Committee of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) decided to bring 100 boys aged between 14 and 16 from Britain to Australia. They would arrive in two groups of 50 each. YMCAs in the capital cities would take responsibility for their reception and care with the cooperation of state departments of immigration. In a letter, the YMCA told Arthur Calwell, the Federal Immigration Minister, that:

This is intended to be small experimental beginning; we trust that it may develop into a much larger scheme by which many British migrants will be brought to this country under the auspices of the Y.M.C.A.

The Director of the Tasmanian Government Tourist and Immigration Department asked the Tasmanian YMCA to discuss any proposals with him. However, all the berths for Tasmania in 1947 were already taken so the YMCA would have to delay any plans until 1948.

It appears that the YMCA did not bring any youth migrants to Tasmania. In 1950, the Director of the Tasmanian Tourism and Immigration Department refused an invitation to the YMCA's opening of their War Memorial Building in Hobart which suggests that the organisation had no relevance to Tasmanian youth migration schemes.

Prepared by: Caroline Evans