Series Series D - Client files

Identity area

Reference code

UQFL671-Series D

Title

Client files

Date(s)

  • 2010-2014 (Creation)
  • 1990-2008 (Creation)

Level of description

Series

Extent and medium

7 folders.

Context area

Name of creator

(1990-2010)

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.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Refugee client referrals and information sheets, as well as some correspondence. Up to about the year 2000, the referrals are made to the Ecumenical Refugee Support Group Incorporated (TERSGI) under the Community Refugee Support Scheme (CRSS). From 2002, the referrals are made under the Community Support for Refugees (CSR), a subset program of the Integrated Humanitarian and Settlement Strategy (IHSS). From 2006, the referrals to TERSGI are from the Multicultural Development Association (MDA); some TERSGI members also volunteered for the MDA, either concurrently or after TERSGI disbanded.

Box 3
Folder 1
Client and sponsorship registers from 1992 to 1995. Includes client names, arrival dates and contact details.

Folder 2
Two photographs, colour, 10 x 15 cm, of what appears to be a refugee family or families sitting on a riverbank with their backs to the camera, ca. 1995. Possibly taken along the Brisbane River.

Folder 3
Client information and referrals from 1990 to 1992.

Folder 4
Client information and referrals from 1993 to 1994.

Folder 5
Client information and referrals from 1995 to 2005. Includes two photographs, 6 x 5 cm and smaller, of two clients.

Folder 6
Client information and referrals from 2002 to 2005.

Folder 7
Client information and referrals from 2006 to 2008, and 2010 to 2014, collected by Helen Findlay as a volunteer for the Multicultural Development Association.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

This series is divided into folders according to the function of the documents by the processing archivist. Folders containing client information and referrals are arranged by family and, as much as possible, in chronological order by year.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Restricted access. 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

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Note

Box 3 Folders 1-7.

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

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Name access points

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.

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Accession area

Related subjects

Related people and organizations

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Physical storage

  • Box: UQFL671 Box 3