Oranges and Sunshine Page #4

---

That was it.

Scrubbing for 40 years.

Sometimes...

...when I was shining up those floors,

I'd think, 'I wonder what my old mum

would think if she could see me now.'

So you remember your mum?

Of course.

Course I do.

Can't ever forget your mum, can you?

Just don't know where she is.

He's been in and out of the hospital

for years now,

but we've never seen him

the way he was the other night.

When your program went out on radio,

he just... he just broke down,

he just howled.

And then all he wanted to do

was get a hold of you.

- I'm glad I could be here.

- He's just over here.

I was only three.

Someone told me my parents were dead.

Then I was on a boat coming here.

I grew up in the orphanage.

You don't want to hear this, Margaret.

Yes, I do.

That's why I'm here.

It was Christmas.

I was really excited.

I... was about seven...

...by then.

I had this wonderful singing voice,

you see.

Used to give concerts at the orphanage

and this... dentist and his wife

asked if I'd come to their home

for Christmas Eve

and you know, sing for them.

- Hello?

- Hello.

Oh, Merv.

Thought I'd take a chance.

Couldn't sleep.

- What time is it there?

- Three in the morning.

- Just wondered if you were OK.

- Oh, you know. Getting by.

- What's wrong?

- Oh.

It's just...

some of the things that I'm hearing...

Get an earlier flight.

I'll come home just before

Christmas, like I promised.

It's only a week away.

They were going

to keep me over Christmas.

I was going to get presents,

proper Christmas dinner.

Come here.

They had a big party.

I sang Ave Maria.

The woman said I was a little angel.

And the dentist...

...dentist and two other men,

they took me into the bathroom

and uh, they...

...they...

Ave Maria...

- What's wrong?

- We can't have that.

We can't have any of it!

Margaret? Margaret!

Can't have this.

- We can't have any of this.

- Margaret. Hey, stop, stop!

So, what do I tell Ben and Rachel?

'Sorry, Christmas is cancelled.'

Oh, Merv, I missed you.

I missed you.

I'm sorry.

Really sorry.

Christmas back on, then?

As long as I don't have to do any

bloody carol singing.

Jack?

Oh, my God!

Well, I thought you'd never

hurry up and find my mum

unless I came and helped you out.

Come in, come in.

- So you just got here?

- Yep, yep.

Wow!

OK.

Going to this address.

Map-reading?

I think I can do that, yeah.

Yeah, it's 71 Lord Nelson Street.

Thank you.

Yeah, no. Well, I'd be grateful

if she could give me a call.

Yeah. It's Margaret Humphreys.

Yes, yes, thank you.

- So, where are we off to?

- Right.

We're picking up Nicky from work

and we're driving to Tyneside.

Righto.

You're Jack?

You're little Jack? Oh, my God.

You used to sit on my lap.

- You know me?

- Yes.

- You knew me when I was a little boy?

- Yeah, yeah, I can see you now.

And you're Nicky.

- So you knew our mother?

- Yeah.

Oh, she was lovely.

Where is she now?

Well, we don't know. We lost her.

We don't remember because

we were in children's homes.

- Oh, wait a minute, that can't be right.

- What?

Well, the woman I knew would never

have put her children in a home.

She lived for that little boy and girl.

We think that maybe her

relationship went down

and she was on her own

and she couldn't cope.

No, she wouldn't have ever

lost touch with her babies,

not while there was breath in her body.

Well, they sent us away,

so she wouldn't have been able to find us.

I see.

Oh, that would have broken her into bits.

What was she like?

What did she look like?

Let me think.

She looked a bit like you, actually.

And that was

Margaret Humphreys

from Nottingham in England.

She's claiming thousands of kids

had been deported

without their parents' consent.

Now we will be taking your calls.

today denied

allegations

surrounding their children's home

in Bindoon.

The Brothers are refuting the claims...

...the British nor the

government here in Australia

have taken any responsibility for this...

how would you describe it... deportation?

Yes, it's clearly the organised

deportation of children

from one country to another.

And neither the charities

nor the church organisations

that ran those schemes

have been prepared to admit

- that any mistakes were made?

- No. No, they haven't.

How about a speech, Margaret?

No, no, really. All right, thank you.

Well, I want to say

thank you to all of you.

This is the proper launch

of the Child Migrants Trust

and it has a home now...

this house.

And without all of the donations

and without all of you,

none of this would have been possible.

So, thank you for giving me an office in it.

And I'm really glad

I don't have to spend another day

working in that hotel room.

- Cup of tea?

- Yes, thanks.

I'm heading off.

You know, long drive home.

- Oh, are you sure, James?

- Yeah.

I don't really know any of these people.

I'm sorry.

I don't want to spoil your party.

You don't know any of them?

Well, yeah, yeah.

I know the Bindoon boys, of course.

- Right.

- See you, Margaret.

Margaret Humphreys.

Listen, you b*tch.

You tell those whinging bastards

to stop talking about Bindoon.

If they tell one more lie

about the Brothers,

just one more,

we're coming over there

and I'll f***ing finish you myself.

Do you enjoy running this slanderous

publicity machine of yours?

I'm afraid I don't recognise

that description of my work.

I don't represent any newspaper

or any television station.

But you'll happily declare

your wild allegations to any of them.

I haven't made any direct allegations

to the press.

Some of the boys who were sent

to your children's home at Bindoon

chose to speak to the press

when they were approached.

But none of those contacts

were initiated by me.

Well, since you've stirred things up,

the Christian Brothers have been

forced to conduct an internal inquiry

into the Boys Towns at Bindoon

and elsewhere.

Now, how have you any idea

how much distress

you have caused to elderly men

who only sought the best?

I'm hearing an awful lot about

the distress caused to the Brothers.

No-one's talking about the distress

caused to the children

who were supposed to be in their care.

You're doing all right then,

aren't you?

They paying you OK, are they?

This probably isn't the best way

to start this conversation, is it?

I don't think you like me very much,

Mrs Humphreys.

All right, I'll be honest

with you, then.

I don't know about the man

sitting opposite me.

But I'm sure that there's

a hurt little boy somewhere inside

that I'd like very much.

We're just going to have to

take the time to find him.

And how do I know that you're

qualified to do that, Mrs Humphreys?

You'll have to make your own

judgement on that, Mr Connolly.

You'll just have to trust me.

It's, uh... That's Len Connolly's

first step on Australia over there.

Then we were processed in here.

All these little kids quakin' and shakin'

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes