Index to applications as boy migrants, 1927-1930

The Big Brother Scheme was a scheme under the Immigration Act of 1923 similar in nature to the Barwell Boys Scheme. Under the Act, a ‘Boy Migrant’ was a youth between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one who came to South Australia with the assistance of the Commonwealth Government. Boy Migrants in the Big Brother Scheme were farm apprentices, and were assigned to a ‘Big Brother’ and a farmer when they arrived in Australia. The cards record: name of boy, file number, name of ship, date of arrival, date of birth, religion, name and address of employer, date employment agreement commenced and expire and wages paid. Some cards also give the name and address of the ‘Big Brother’ allocated as a mentor to the Boy Migrant, generally a city business or professional man of the same religion.