This evening I decided to re-visit the National Archives of Australia web (www.naa.gov.au) to see if any decision was reached about access to the immigration file on my father held there. A few weeks after his death I took an educated guess that Customs or Immigration may have created a file on him and I was right.
Using the Name search at the NAA website I found a listing for a file created by the Department of Immigration, Central Office in September 1949. At the time of my first enquiry the file was marked "Not yet examined", meaning it had not been assessed for release. So I emailed asking for access and checked tonight to find the file is now marked "Open" and that a decision on the file's status was made on "27 Nov 2008". Bureaucracy does not always move slowly.
And the name of the file: "Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per Goya departing Naples 25 September 1949". The listing (and name on the file) for Dad gives the Serbian spelling of his name and the anglicised version. Now I just need to order a copy of the file; apparently I can do this online and view a digital copy of the file (for $16.50) or a photocopy can be sent for $25.00. I think I'll go digital as the wait for the post would kill me.
Using the Name search at the NAA website I found a listing for a file created by the Department of Immigration, Central Office in September 1949. At the time of my first enquiry the file was marked "Not yet examined", meaning it had not been assessed for release. So I emailed asking for access and checked tonight to find the file is now marked "Open" and that a decision on the file's status was made on "27 Nov 2008". Bureaucracy does not always move slowly.
And the name of the file: "Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per Goya departing Naples 25 September 1949". The listing (and name on the file) for Dad gives the Serbian spelling of his name and the anglicised version. Now I just need to order a copy of the file; apparently I can do this online and view a digital copy of the file (for $16.50) or a photocopy can be sent for $25.00. I think I'll go digital as the wait for the post would kill me.
1 comment:
Hi Pete - how efficient are they!
Looking forward to the next instalment. Dianne
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