In 1932, Norman Hale, 9, arrived at Fremantle, Australia, in a group of 35 children from the Child Emigration Society, The Strand, London, England, en route to Fairbridge Farm School, Pinjarra, Australia.

In 1993, an article was written about Norman's search and recovery of his English roots:
r n"Search yields a bounty of love r nby Jeremy Wilshire

He had to wait more than half a century but Norman Hale's private and painful family search has ended in tears of happiness.

When nine of his closest relatives arrived in Perth from England this week, the overdue reunion closed the chapter on a heart-wrenching tale which began in 1932.

That was the year in which Mr Hale arrived in Australia as a lonely nine-year-old after bieng sent to a boys' home in Durham when his mother fell on hard times in the tough coal-mining town of northern England.

He grew up at Pinjarra's Fairbridge Farm, where he met his childhood sweetheart, married, and had five children and 13 grandchildren, during which time hi English heritage remained a mystery.
r n'I first started looking for my family when I was a 20-year-old in the army in 1942,' Mr Hale, 75, said.
r n'But I had heard absolutely nothing until about two years ago when a friend put me on to Margaret Humphries from the Child Migrant Trust.'

The search led first to cousin Jane Brown, who was very close to Mr Hale's mother and nursed her before her death in 1980.

Mrs Brown said: 'Just before my aunt died she told me she had a son called Norman who had been sent to Australia, and later, when we were clearing out her things, we found some old photos of Norman which I kept.
r n'I'm sure fate just kept hanging in there and wanted us to get together.'

Letters, Christmas cards and phone calls followed over the next two years before the English connection -- made up of all nine family members -- flew to Perth for a true family Christmas.
r n'This was such a big occasion that we felt the whole family should come along,' Mrs Brown said. 'And it really was quiet a meeting -- there were 27 people waiting for us at the airport.
r n'It was just awe-inspiring to think we had a whole new family just waiting there for us on the other side of the world and it has been fantastic to finally catch up after all these years.'

As for Mr Hale's feelings on his family and the new-found joy it offers: 'I'm going to puncture the plane ... they're not allowed to go home,' he said."