Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 2012-2019 (Creation)
- 1990-2010 (Creation)
Level of description
Series
Extent and medium
6 folders, 1 item.
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Ecumenical Refugee Support Group Incorporated (TERSGI), was formed in August 1990 by members of various Catholic, Anglican and Uniting churches in Brisbane. It was incorporated in October 1990. The group operated under the Australian Government's Immigration Department as part of the Community Refugee Support Scheme (CRSS). Members met with and mentored refugees accepted into Australia, aiding their settlement process. This involved assisting refugees to find and furnish accommodation, connect essential services, register with Centrelink, open bank accounts, arrange health checks, enroll in English language classes, and, if a family had children, obtain school uniforms and stationery. The volunteers brought various skills to the organisation that enabled them to provide additional services such as marriage and family counselling, teaching English as a second language, special education, and health and nutrition advice. The group rented a storage unit in Indooroopilly to store furniture and other supplies needed by newly arrived refugees.
By 1995, the group had settled around 140 people from countries including El Salvador, Vietnam, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia. Over the next decade, the group expanded and evolved as volunteers came and went. They organised and participated in various events and activities, including annual Christmas picnics at Orleigh Park in West End, book collection drives, and cookouts and food festivals. Several members were recognised for their work: Barbara Dungavell received a Centenary Medal in 2001, and Audrey Ledwich received the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2010.
The group disbanded in August 2010 due to an insufficient number of members in compliance with the group's constitution. Some members continued helping refugees through other organisations, such as the Multicultural Development Association (MDA), which often worked closely with TERSGI before it was disbanded.
Publicists - Audrey Ledwich, Ann and Donald Barton, Denis Connellan, Barbara Dungavell, Andrew Gormley, Charles and Adele Rice, Margaret Wilkinson and Helen Findlay.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Administration records created and collected by the Ecumenical Refugee Support Group Incorporated (TERSGI).
Box 1
Item 1
Digital video disc (DVD) containing Helen Findlay's born digital files collected while in the position of secretary for TERSGI and a volunteer for the Multicultural Development Association (MDA). The files are in a variety of formats including Microsoft Word 97-2003, Microsoft Excel 97-2003, PDF and JPG files. Files are arranged into ten folders. Nine of these folders hold archival records, primarily administrative, relating to TERSGI and MDA, covering the period from 1999 to 2019 (incomplete). One folder holds records relating to Annual General Meetings, as well as annual reports. Dated: 1995 to 2019.
Folder 1
General administrative files from 1990 to 1994, and 2010. Includes two typed copies of the TERSGI constitution, one annotated with pen; a handwritten list of household essentials and vendors; a typed summary of TERSGI, its objectives and activities; a typed appeal for volunteers and donations; a contact list of Community Refugee Settlement Scheme (CRSS) groups; mail out templates for invitations to TERSGI picnics; a document titled 'Review of the Community Refugee Settlement Scheme' prepared by the Settlement Planning and Evaluation Section of the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs; and a record of tutors allocated to refugee clients. Also includes a typed letter by Helen Findlay nominating Audrey Ledwich for an Australian Honour in 2010.
Folder 2
Membership applications, dated 1990 to 1997, 2001, and 2007.
Folder 3
Mailing lists, and membership and subscription listings, 1992 to 2000.
Folder 4
Information sheets and service support documentation created or collected by TERSGI possibly to assist refugee clients with resettlement. Includes a typed list titled 'Essential things to know'; a Social Security pocket rates card pasted to scrap paper; contact lists and organisational charts of branches within the Department of Immigration; a photocopy of a handwritten page of English language class options for adult refugees; and a brochure of community programs funded by the Department of Immigration. Dated: 1993 to 1996.
Folder 5
Two leaves of notes, one typed, one handwritten, for what appears to be an introductory speech delivered at a talk arranged by TERSGI in 1991. The speech introduces speakers Judith Given and Lyn Robinson and their talk titled 'Access to English language training for people of non-English speaking background'. The speech also mentions a question and answer session with Linda Mortensen, the coordinator for the CRSS at the Department of Immigration.
Folder 6
Research, excerpts and ephemera relating to refugees and immigration from 1993 to 1995. Includes a document with a typed theological quote, undated, with no author attribution; typed discussion papers about the operations of the Department of Immigration at the Australian Embassy in Belgrade and its processes around visa applications from Albania, Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Romania; a September 1994 issue of MAI newsletter by the Mutual Assistance for Indochinese; a photocopy of a newsletter article about Nick Bolkus and the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs; and a copy of a typed poem titled 'They came walking, walking' by Joseph G. Healey.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Restricted access, except for unrestricted access to Box 1 Folders 1-6. Application for access to restricted material may be submitted to the Fryer Librarian for consideration.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copying, photographing, or reproduction of restricted material is not permitted.
In copyright. Contact the Fryer Library. Can be reproduced for personal research and study. For other uses see About copyright. Please attribute the Fryer Library.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Digital video disc (DVD).
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Box 1 Item 1, Folders 1-6.
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Multicultural Development Association (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Full
Dates of creation revision deletion
Created, Kymberley Doyle, 05-Aug-2024.