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| Abuse inquiry: Australian orphanage was 'feast of kids' | Abuse inquiry: Australian orphanage was 'feast of kids' |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A former child migrant, sent from Wales to an Australian orphanage, has told a child abuse inquiry how it was a "feast of kids" for paedophiles working there. | A former child migrant, sent from Wales to an Australian orphanage, has told a child abuse inquiry how it was a "feast of kids" for paedophiles working there. |
| Giving evidence, the anonymous 72-year-old said Brother Lawrence Murphy took him in to his bedroom twice, forcing him to perform sex acts. | Giving evidence, the anonymous 72-year-old said Brother Lawrence Murphy took him in to his bedroom twice, forcing him to perform sex acts. |
| If I had told anyone, I would have been belted or got the strap, he said. | If I had told anyone, I would have been belted or got the strap, he said. |
| Castledare orphanage near Perth, run by the Christian Brothers order, was like "a legal paedophile ring", he said. | Castledare orphanage near Perth, run by the Christian Brothers order, was like "a legal paedophile ring", he said. |
| The witness told the inquiry: "If someone did it in the public eye, he'd go to court, he'd get sentenced and he'd serve time. | The witness told the inquiry: "If someone did it in the public eye, he'd go to court, he'd get sentenced and he'd serve time. |
| "If he'd got a habit on, if you're a Christian Brother then it seemed to be a free-for-all. | "If he'd got a habit on, if you're a Christian Brother then it seemed to be a free-for-all. |
| "We knew what would happen if you told somebody, especially in authority, they would say 'this doesn't happen here.'" | "We knew what would happen if you told somebody, especially in authority, they would say 'this doesn't happen here.'" |
| The abuse scandal of the British children sent abroad | The abuse scandal of the British children sent abroad |
| 'Name the villains', abuse inquiry told | 'Name the villains', abuse inquiry told |
| He went on to claim that Brother Murphy was later "transferred from place to place" to effectively hide him. | He went on to claim that Brother Murphy was later "transferred from place to place" to effectively hide him. |
| He said his time at the orphanage still haunted him and was "probably something I will never forget". | He said his time at the orphanage still haunted him and was "probably something I will never forget". |
| He had bottled it up for nearly 30 years and had only chosen to speak out when he found out about the inquiry, he added. | He had bottled it up for nearly 30 years and had only chosen to speak out when he found out about the inquiry, he added. |
| 'No pants, no shoes' | 'No pants, no shoes' |
| Life for the orphans involved hard physical labour including pulling down trees, clearing land, digging out a swimming pool and building a handball court by chipping bricks. | Life for the orphans involved hard physical labour including pulling down trees, clearing land, digging out a swimming pool and building a handball court by chipping bricks. |
| "You had to chip X amount of bricks before you can knock off, before you had something to eat," he told the inquiry, which is looking into abuse in England and Wales. | "You had to chip X amount of bricks before you can knock off, before you had something to eat," he told the inquiry, which is looking into abuse in England and Wales. |
| The boys wore only a grey shirt and shorts, no matter what the weather, he said. | The boys wore only a grey shirt and shorts, no matter what the weather, he said. |
| There were no underpants and shoes were only worn when somebody important visited, otherwise feet were bare, he added. | There were no underpants and shoes were only worn when somebody important visited, otherwise feet were bare, he added. |
| Brothers would be fully clothed with shoes and gloves while the boys shivered in the cold, he said. | Brothers would be fully clothed with shoes and gloves while the boys shivered in the cold, he said. |
| The inquiry also heard from another former child migrant, Oliver Cosgrove, who is now in his late sixties and who also lived at Castledare. | The inquiry also heard from another former child migrant, Oliver Cosgrove, who is now in his late sixties and who also lived at Castledare. |
| He said the Christian Brothers, who ran the home, would visit the children's beds at night. | He said the Christian Brothers, who ran the home, would visit the children's beds at night. |
| "We were told at Castledare that we always had to sleep on our right hand side so that the heart was closer to heaven," he said. | "We were told at Castledare that we always had to sleep on our right hand side so that the heart was closer to heaven," he said. |
| Brother Murray had fondled him and had also "come to my bed and forced me to give him oral sex," the Inquiry was told. | Brother Murray had fondled him and had also "come to my bed and forced me to give him oral sex," the Inquiry was told. |
| Mr Cosgrove only fully remembered some of the abuse in 2014 after reading documents connected to an Australian abuse inquiry. | Mr Cosgrove only fully remembered some of the abuse in 2014 after reading documents connected to an Australian abuse inquiry. |
| He said: "The memory of this caused me to have several days of sobbing in my apartment, the apartment walls are not very thick. I used to drive down to a riverside reserve which is nearby and just sob for several hours in the night." | |
| How will the inquiry work? | How will the inquiry work? |
| The first phase of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is looking at the way organisations have protected children outside the UK. | The first phase of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse is looking at the way organisations have protected children outside the UK. |
| Between 7,000 and 10,000 children were moved from the UK to Australia after World War Two. | Between 7,000 and 10,000 children were moved from the UK to Australia after World War Two. |
| They were recruited by religious institutions from both the Anglican and Catholic churches, or charities, including Barnardo's and the Fairbridge Society, with the aim of giving them a better life. | They were recruited by religious institutions from both the Anglican and Catholic churches, or charities, including Barnardo's and the Fairbridge Society, with the aim of giving them a better life. |
| The inquiry, now into its third day, will hear testimonies from child migrants over a fortnight. | The inquiry, now into its third day, will hear testimonies from child migrants over a fortnight. |