South Australia's British Domestic Helpers
The early 1910s saw the revival of government assisted migration to South Australia for the first time since the late 1880s. During 1911 and 1914 approximately 850 British women joined the farm apprentices in emigrating to South Australia with an assisted passage, however, they were recruited to serve as 'domestic helpers', rather than as agricultural labourers.
It appears that relatively little research has been conducted into this twin category of assisted migration. The most comprehensive source is Margrette A. Kleinig's unpublished Honours thesis Good Help is Hard to Find: The Emigration of Selected Domestic Servants from the United Kingdom to South Australia, 1911-1914 (School of Social Sciences, Flinders University, 1991).
The farm apprentices interacted with the domestic helpers in several ways. Firstly, they were fellow passengers on the boats to South Australia. Secondly, some boys, including those who arrived on the SS Geelong, were accommodated or employed at the Domestic Helpers' Home at 5 Charles Street, Norwood.