| 104 | Sandra Charles nee Hemingway | It was 1973 and at 15 I was pregnant. I was sent to kiononia Unwed Mothers Hostel run by the Uniting Church in Brisbane to wait and have my baby then to place my baby up for adoption as so many other girls did at the home. Having spent my 16 birthday in the Royal Women`s Hospital a week later I delivered my son. I heard the staff talking about the baby being up for adoption and they were about to rush him out the room, however a nurse asked if I would like to see him. I couldnt. Later my mother arrived and I broke down begging her for me to keep him. She agreed because she knew only too well what it was like to be a forgotten child as she had been institutionalised and a ward of the state from the age of 2 till 18. As my mother left that night all I remember her saying to me was dont sign any papers without her there. The next day upon hearing of my decision a member from the church came to the hospital and told me I was unfit to keep and raise my child and that my baby will amount to nothing. How could I expect to raise a child by myself. For many years I lived with the guilt and stigma of being an unwed mother but I soon realised I was a very good mother and so very proud of my son.Over the last 35 years I have often wondered about the other girls in the home and the children they placed up for adoption and if they ever think about them. My mother now passed on was one of the forgotten children and all she wanted was an apology for everything she endured from a life in homes and foster care.
Now my heart goes out to the many other girls now women that were pregnant and forced to give up their babies. I can only imagine the heart ache over all these years and your memories of your taken babies. So I add Mr Rudd apologise to these women for taking their children away. |