Big Brother Movement Reunion in Melbourne
After attending the Sydney reunion in 2017, Little Brother Steve Noble (Strathnaver ’55) decided to give the opportunity of re-connection to more Little Brothers by organising a reunion in Melbourne.
Held on the 6th March, the event was a great success and was attended by 34 people, including 19 Little Brothers and an escort officer. This was in no small part due to Steve’s dedication to calling around all local Little Brothers with details provided by BBM Youth Support. With the help of other supportive volunteers, Steve tracked down more Little Brothers and, with the help of the media, managed to make contact with those who had lost touch with the Big Brother Movement – a great achievement.
Held at the RACV in Melbourne, the lunch event included a welcome by Steve Noble, an address by chairman Stephen Wilkinson, sharing of stories by Little Brothers and an update by CEO Melanie Stray on current work of the organisation, which now supports Australian young people to have life changing experiences.
Dick Steell (Sydney based BBM volunteer) also gave details about the work that is being done in the BBM office to update Little Brothers’ records and new software that will greatly improve communication to and between Little Brothers. Dick also showed a home movie that recorded his group’s travel highlights to Australia.
Afterwards Steve had organised a visit to the local Immigration Museum, which had a topical exhibition entitled ‘British Migrants: Instant Australians?’.
Steve Noble commented, ‘I was very satisfied with the way that the event went, and delighted to have attendees from four different states. The feedback has all been extremely positive and I hope to attend more reunions around the country in the future – they are a great way to build camaraderie and re-ignite lost friendships.’
Attendees are below:
| Name of Ship | Arrival Year | ||
| Steve | Noble | Strathnaver | 1955 |
| Richard | Steell | Fairsea | 1963 |
| Theo | Scholey | Strathnaver | 1955 |
| Richard | Grattan | Strathnaver | 1955 |
| Clifford | Skinner | Ormonde | 1951 |
| Chris | Watts | Asturias | 1952 |
| Jim | Donaldson | Ranchi | 1951 |
| John | Harbord | Strathaird | 1960 |
| John | Partington | Orion | 1956 |
| George | Bradley | Strathnaver | 1955 |
| Mel | Hopwood | Strathnaver | 1955 |
| Peter | Clark | Fairsky | 1965 |
| Trevor | Peart | Himalaya | 1966 |
| Gordon | Scott | New Australia | 1950 |
| Robert | Robertson | Strathnaver | 1961 |
| Paul | Beecher | Orcades | 1956 |
| John | McCallum | Qantas | 1966 |
| Roger | Putnam | Himalaya Escort Officer | 1966 |
| Peter | Blair | Fairsea | 1959 |
