Local author publishes late father’s memoirs revealing harsh realities of child migrants in WA

Western Australian writer Shane Pinnegar has released a new book, All That Was Taken From Us, revealing the previously untold story of his late father Tony Pinnegar.

In 1950, 13-year-old Tony Pinnegar boarded a ship in London with his two younger brothers, bound for a new life on the other side of the world. With a wave and a scant parting word from their mother, they were sent to Fairbridge Farm School near Pinjarra, and went on to learn the harsh realities of Britain’s Child Migrant Scheme first-hand.

For almost seventy years Tony steadfastly refused to discuss his childhood with his wife or children, until a few years before he passed in early 2022, when he finally opened up to his eldest son Shane. Even then delving into his memories was slow going, hampered by Tony’s recurring cancer treatments.

What unfolded was a heartbreaking story of children who were neglected or abused in Britain’s pursuit to send “good, white stock” to the colonies. The brothers’ childhood had been dysfunctional enough in England, but nothing could have prepared them for life at Fairbridge.

After Tony passed in February 2022 Shane Pinnegar resolved to finish his memoirs using his father’s words wherever possible. Shane unearthed a treasure trove of documents relating to Tony’s emigration, and learnt the shameful truth of Australia and Britain’s Child Migrant Scheme. Along the way Shane learned much about his father and the disturbing effect his disruptive and abusive childhood had on him. Tony’s emotional distance, his sometimes volcanic temper, and his refusal to talk about his childhood all finally made sense in the context of Shane’s own upbringing.

After emigrating to Australia with his younger brothers in 1950, Tony Pinnegar became a naturalised Australian in 1977. He went on to forge a glowing career as an Insurance Broker, including running his own firm for much of the eighties. He died on Thursday, February 24, 2022, after battling a variety of cancers for over fifteen years.

Shane Pinnegar has previously published one novel and an anthology of (mostly) dark short stories through Bark Side Books. A chef by trade, he has also been a music and pop culture journalist for over twelve years, ran his own catering and hot sauce business in Perth for over sixteen years, and currently lives in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia’s Goldfields region.

Shane Pinnegar’s All That Was Taken From Us is out now from Barkside Books.