This page brings together a range of Wattle Place publications, helpful videos and links to key support organisations.
The resources below contain powerful stories and historical accounts that may be distressing. We have included them because it’s important that they are known. However, these stories are also a testament to the resilience and courage of survivors, and the ongoing fight for recognition and healing. If anything in this information causes you distress, please talk to someone or seek support through the crisis numbers at the bottom of the page.
Our Publications & Guides
Here you’ll find booklets and resources created by Wattle Place. They share information about our services, people’s experiences, and practical steps for care leavers and families.
Watch and Listen
These videos and talks share real stories of courage, recovery, and community. They can help you understand different lived experiences and how people have rebuilt their lives.
Adele Chynoweth is a theatre director and museum curator working on narratives of Forgotten Australians: more than 500,000 Australians who spent their childhood in orphanages and other institutions.
Who are the Forgotten Australians? | Alliance for Forgotten Australians
This video acknowledges the experiences of Forgotten Australians, sharing personal stories and historical footage to explain the experiences of children who grew up in institutional care in Australia.
My stolen childhood, and a life to rebuild | Sheila Humphries at TEDxPerth
Sheila Humphries, a member of the Stolen Generations, shares how being taken from her parents and placed in an orphanage left lasting scars and shaped her life.
Mothers Speak: The Hidden Grief of Forced Adoption | ABC
Three women share deeply personal accounts of being coerced into giving up their babies, revealing decades of trauma, silence, and eventual reunion.
View on ABC
Forgotten Fathers: Voices Lost in Adoption | SBS
This SBS Insight episode explores the overlooked experiences of biological fathers who were excluded from adoption decisions and left to grieve in silence.
Watch on SBS
Angela’s Story | ABC
Follow Angela Barra on her journey to understand her adoption, uncovering the impact of forced separation on her sense of self, and her experience reuniting with her birth family.
Part 1 on Vimeo
Part 2 on Vimeo
Part 3 on Vimeo
Key Organisations
These groups work alongside Wattle Place to provide care, advocacy, and connection for people with similar experiences.
Explore more online
Here are some online resources that share stories, history, information and services.
Research and Reports
For those who want to learn more, these studies and official reports explore what happened in care settings and how those experiences continue to shape lives today.
- Long term Outcomes for Forgotten Australians Study (2017)
- Caring for Forgotten Australians, Former Child Migrants and Stolen Generations Information Package (2016)
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Stolen Generations aged 50 and over Report (2018)
- Impact of Past Adoption Practices: Summary of Key Issues from Australian Research (2010)
- Bringing Them Home Report (1997)
- Lost Innocents: Righting the Record Report on Child Migration
- Forgotten Australians: A Report on Australians who Experienced Institutional or Out-of-home Care as Children (2004)
- Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices (2012)
- Final Report: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2017)
Practical Tools and Tips
These guides offer simple, useful advice for individuals, families, and care providers. They focus on understanding trauma, reconnecting with heritage, and creating safe, supportive spaces.