At any one time, about a third of the resident population of the Benalla Migrant Camp was made up of supporting mothers.Pennay, B. Benalla Migrant Camp: A Difficult Heritage, p.8. Initially, what some social workers dubbed the ‘Benalla experiment’ seemed to work well, especially after Camp facilities were improved and adequate childcare for working mothers was provided. Women were given English language training and homemaking classes, to increase their prospects of marriage and assimilation into the wider community. Benalla was intended only as a short term solution for accommodating supporting migrant women, and initially, with the turn-over of 30-50 Camp residents each month, the system seemed satisfactory.
