The National Archives of Australia has extended the national tour of its exhibition on past adoption practices to include Geelong in Victoria and Adelaide in South Australia.
Director-General of the Archives, David Fricker said it was estimated that 250,000 Australians were affected by the policies and practices of forced adoption, with most adoptions occurring between 1950 and 1975.
“In a dark period of Australian history, unmarried mothers were forced to relinquish their babies under the unbearable weight of social expectations and illegal practices,” Mr Fricker said.
“Without Consent: Australia’s Past Adoption Practices brings to light the previously hidden adoption practices of Australia’s past. It has offered those affected by forced adoptions the opportunity to share their experiences, some for the first time ever.”
He said the exhibition was a tribute to the courage and generosity of those who volunteered to share their experiences.
“Without the voices of those affected, our nation’s history would rely totally on institutional records that show nothing of the human anguish such practices caused,” Mr Fricker said.
“We are so pleased to be able to bring Without Consent to Victoria and South Australia. Stakeholders from these States were very supportive as we were developing the exhibition and the Forced Adoptions History Projectwebsite.”
The exhibition will be on show at Geelong’s National Wool Museum from 1 November this year and at the State Library of South Australia in Adelaide from 7 February next year.
Mr Fricker said the South Australian leg of the national tour, which began in 2015 and has visited 12 venues across the ACT, NSW, Queensland and Western Australia, would see its close.
He said almost 200,000 people have visited to exhibition to date.
