Stolen Children

Sidney Rusca was taken as an infant from his family in Booroloola. Laura Knowles was taken from her mother who lived at Daly River. Clara Edwards was taken from Ernabella in Central Australia and Avis Edwards from Ceduna in South Australia. Sidney, Laura, Clara and Avis were removed from their families, communities and culture and forced to grow up on Christian missions hundreds of kilometres from their homes. Their 'crime' was that they had white fathers and Aboriginal mothers, and they were taken in order to lead 'a better life'. Reporter Barbara McCarthy travels to the sites of the missions and hears from the 'inmates' the pain of separation from their families and the ups and downs of life on the mission.